The NHL has allowed fans to vote their favorite players into the All-Star Game since 1986, and the results always give us plenty to talk about. It's become expected that fans will stuff the ballot boxes, start write-in campaigns for unlikely players, and generally look for ways to make sure the final results contain a surprise or two.
Debating the All-Star votes has become an annual tradition that dates back to the inception of fan-chosen teams. Here's a look back at some of the more memorable moments in fan voting over the years:
November 2008: Montreal Canadiens fans launch a ballot-stuffing campaign they discreetly refer to as “Operation let's get a mediocre defenseman elected to the All-Star team and then see if the Maple Leafs will massively overpay him in free agency.”
December 2006: The NHL scoffs at accusations that high-ranking league officials may have tampered with the results of the balloting, after announcing that a record 100 percent of fans voted for Gregory Campbell.
January 1987: Despite your careful efforts to punch the ballot just right and then hand it to the patiently waiting usher, you are devastated to learn that your childhood hero has not been selected for the game. Years later, you pinpoint the experience as the exact moment you learned the lifelong lesson that voting for things that are important to you is a complete waste of time.
February 2009: Three weeks after the All-Star game is played, mailed-in ballots from Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon begin arriving at league headquarters.
January 1997: Claude Lemieux is flattered to learn that he has been named a starter on the Western Conference team thanks to a write-in campaign organized by Detroit Red Wings fans, although that feeling fades somewhat when he realizes that the same campaign has also elected Eastern Conference starters Rob Ray, Tie Domi, and an angry Doberman.
December 2008: Rick DiPietro casts a vote for himself, then spends six months on injured reserve due to the resulting paper cut.
January 2001: Defenseman Mark Eaton is the runaway vote leader in fan balloting, causing the league to rethink that season's heavily criticized “Delaware vs. The World” format.
December 2009: Attempts by Calgary ownership to encourage fans to flood the league office with write-in votes for Flames players goes awry when the players mistakenly assume the slogan “This Year, Let's All Mail It In!” is the team's new mission statement.
January 2012: A concerted write-in campaign by Ottawa Senators fans results in the entire starting lineup consisting of variations of the phrase “Leafs suck.”
December 2008: Sidney Crosby attempts to cast his vote, but is thwarted in his efforts to punch the ballot after being unable to locate its crotch.
October 1998: The NHL's first attempt at online voting proves unpopular with fans, mainly due to its requirement that fans log on to the website, click on their favorite player's name, and then mail their computer to the league's head office.
January 1991: Chris Nilan is named to the Wales Conference All-Star team by head coach Mike Milbury, which would be the funniest joke in this entire book except that it actually happened.
January 1993: The league's efforts to encourage grade school children to vote backfires when the two starting goaltending spots are won in a landslide by Ron Tugnutt and Daren Puppa.