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All-Star time is show time. (Straight Shooter).
The All-Star Game, which this year is being played Sunday in Sunrise, Fla., is extremely laidback and noncontact. You've got to let the players with the skills display those skills, so the game is very open, and there's always lots of scoring chances.
At the 1999 All-Star Game in Tampa, I went out with the intent that I needed to make a little bit of contact, but I didn't try to kill anybody or put anybody through the boards. Hitting is the only way I can have any kind of success, so if I'm not being physical, then I don't look very good.
The league puts on lots of activities during the All-Star weekend that keep the players busy. They can sightsee or spend time with their family. I slept. I did a lot of sleeping that weekend. I also spent time at some of the events that surround the All-Star Game with my with, Lisa, and just really took in the experience.
The most surprising thing was the day before the game, the skills competitions and all the events. Those were enjoyable and lighthearted. Before the competition, I didn't really want to get involved. I was nervous. I was only in the breakaway shootout, and I was fine with that. The next day, on the ice, I was doing a lot of standing around, and I realized I wanted to be more involved. I went against Nikolai Khabibulin, and I scored, so it was a fun night.
Before the game, guys are joking around, talking about what they want to do after the game. It's about total enjoyment. No seriousness whatsoever. It's more about putting on a show for the fans, so the players try to be creative and try a few things offensively so everyone enjoys it. The players are able to put away any animosity or grudges for that type of setting. We respect each other and what everybody's capable of doing.
The only tendency you might pick up from a player is if he uses an illegal stick. It's not like you're hunting for illegal sticks, but guys are always picking up other guys' sticks and checking out their curves, the line of stick and type of stick they ...