John Scott speaks out on NHL, Coyotes pressure to decline All-Star spot

John Scott, the NHL enforcer voted in as an All-Star Game captain through a fan campaign, was asked by the Arizona Coyotes to speak out against the vote and was incensed when an NHL official asked him to decline the honor, asking, “Do you think this is something your daughters would be proud of?”

Those are two of the bigger revelations in a revelatory piece by Scott in The Players’ Tribune, which pulls back the curtain on the drama behind his All-Star journey.

Scott, you'll recall, was the subject of a fan campaign* to get a player known more for punching than for scoring elected to this year's All-Star campaign. He won the overall vote, but was then traded by the Coyotes and buried in the AHL by the Canadiens. There was concern that would strip him of his All-Star Game status, but the NHL officially named him to the game a few days later.

The Players' Tribune goes into detail about Scott’s journey through hockey, from his days as an engineering student at Michigan Tech through his NHL pugilism to the surreal moment when he was handed his All-Star Game gloves – right before the Coyotes traded him.

But it’s the behind-the-scenes drama, with the Coyotes and the NHL urging him to give up his All-Star spot, that’s the sizzle of the piece.

From the Players’ Tribune:

He also said someone from the NHL asked him, “Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?” when trying to get him to leave the All-Star Game.

“That was it, right there. That was the moment,” wrote Scott. “Because, while I may not deserve to be an NHL All-Star, I know I deserve to be the judge of what my kids will — and won’t — be proud of me for.

Read the full story on The Players’ Tribune. It’s well worth your time, and sheds new light on what Scott’s been through during his surreal All-Star Game journey.

(* a campaign that we played a part in starting.)

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.