The story of hockey journeyman John Scott resonated with Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur on Sunday at the NHL All-Star Game in Nashville, Tenn.
Scott, 33, was the captain of the Pacific Division All-Star team after being selected to the team in a fan vote. The Arizona Coyotes traded Scott to the Montreal Canadiens earlier last month. Scott has not played a game with the Canadiens and is currently with the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League.
Scott, who has played for six teams in his NHL career (Arizona, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks) had two goals in the All-Star Game on Sunday, Scott and was named the game's MVP.
"Here's the problem with sports movies: it's very rare that it doesn't work out. The first Rocky was a rare example of this, and it won Sylvester Stallone an Oscar nomination for screenwriting. But the art and arc of the sports film is in the mapping of the journey, the depth of the suffering, the unlikeliness of the rise, and the way the victory is depicted. Sports movies, like a lot of movies, have to trick us into caring. Because the happy ending is coming, and everybody knows," Arthur wrote.
"John Scott was the king of hockey this weekend. It wouldn't have mattered if Sidney Crosby was in Nashville, or Alexander Ovechkin, or Wayne Gretzky. He scored twice. He was the write-in MVP. He was carried around on the shoulders of far better players. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported, Scott's all-star helmet is headed for the Hall of Fame.
"But you could write it, if you wanted: you just wouldn't make it this obviously a happy ending, would you? The aging giant fighter, his wife pregnant with twins, playing in the desert, his career nearly done. A prank all-star voting campaign, the NHL fighting against it, trying to shame him out of going by bringing up his kids and whether they would be proud of him. A suspicious trade to Montreal, where the general manager says "I made a trade that, at the time, I had to make that trade. I have a reason that I can't really tell you why, but if I could, you would probably understand."
"And then he gets exiled to Newfoundland, as far away from the NHL as you can get without dropping him in the actual ocean. The revulsion towards the trade grows, though, and the league, grudgingly or not, agrees to leave him as the captain of the Pacific Division team. He wouldn't let them pressure him, he said. He wanted to go.
"And then in Nashville, he's the hero. Not the guys who can skate and shoot and fly, the guys who make the puck dance, the guys who made hockey look easy. John Scott."
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald:
• "It is reported that Jim Harbaugh once climbed a tree to land a recruit. Harbaugh climbed a tree in pursuit of a four-star recruit. Knowing Harbaugh he'd go bungee jumping off the empire State Building to land a 5-star."
• "So many players bailed on the Pro Bowl, two players had to be called up from the Puppy Bowl."
• "At Super Bowl media day, Cam Newton's yellow zebra-print pants have their own booth."
• "After losing a bet, Carson Palmer had to don a Hula outfit. It could have been worse. Tony Siragusa could have lost the same bet."
• "There is online video of a five-year-old girl removing her tooth by tying a string to it and a football and throwing the football. She now has a slightly higher passer rating than Colin Kaepernick."
SPORTS QUIZ
What season was the Nashville Predators' inaugural season?
ANSWER
1998-1999.
Sports on 02/02/2016