John Scott’s presence pays with 2 goals in NHL All-Star Game

He scored twice during the tournament, bringing cheers from fans and smiles from teammates who relished every moment along with the gentle giant with a goofy grin and a likable demeanor.

Fans voted Scott into this game as captain of the Pacific Division even though he has scored only five goals in 285 career games. Scott was of course traded from the Arizona Coyotes (of the Pacific Division) to the Montreal Canadiens (of the Atlantic Division) and assigned to the St-Johns Icecaps (of the AHL) making him ineligible for the 2016 NHL All-Star game altogether. Scott found himself hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates when he was announced as the MVP and he got a little nervous when they picked him up.

Not long after he had been named MVP and handed a $1 million check to divvy between his teammates, John Scott’s wife was overcome with emotion.

With board meetings, All-Star festivities and the American Hockey League skills competition taking place Sunday evening, league president Dave Andrews didn’t have a chance to see the NHL’s new All-Star Game format in action.

The 6-foot-8, 260-pound enforcer, who spent the 2014-15 season in San Jose, skated on a line with Burns and Pavelski as the Pacific Division beat the Central, 9-6, and got past the Atlantic in the final, 1-0.

The least likely All-Star was voted the most valuable player of the NHL’s first venture into three-on-three play at its midseason showcase, proving that the worst intentions can sometimes have an unimaginably good outcome. Bettman says the league is happy to reflect the fans’ will. I thought they were going to drop me on my head. The 33-year-old Scott was voted Team Pacific captain as part of an Internet campaign aimed at poking fun at the tough guy’s career.

Those are high words of praise from the Bruins bench boss considering Scott was also an enforcer that’s just a couple of seasons removed from concussing B’s enforcer Shawn Thornton in a fight, and knocking Loui Eriksson out of commission for weeks with a nasty center ice hit that concussed the Swedish winger. NBC’s cameras caught his mom celebrating one of his two goals on the night. It just gives me goose bumps thinking about all the fans have done for me.

Goals were surprisingly scarce in the championship period, with Anaheim right winger Corey Perry the only one to crack the code.

What was not foreseeable was the impact that John Scott would have. He leveled Chicago’s Patrick Kane with a body check, something that is usually frowned upon at the All-Star Game.

The other semifinal game between Atlantic and Metropolitan ended 4-3, with P.K. Subban scoring the game-winning goal with 4:38 left in the game.

He also got to be his true self on the ice Sunday. When it comes to the real hockey world, Scott doesn’t belong in the league.

“I didn’t realize I had that many fans and that much support”.

It’s a good thing Jeff Gorton is the Rangers’ general manager now or Glen Sather would have no one preventing him from trading for John Scott again.

“I broke a better sweat than a year ago for sure”, Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux said.