NHL All-Star Game: What If They Beat Up a Car?

SUNRISE - The NHL all-star weekend festivities are all about fun. Fanfests are always a big part of the experience, and players even slip a little out of their comfort zones when it comes to things like the skills competition. When it comes to Media Day, those same stars tend to be more relaxed than they would be if it was a regular game day, so there's room for fun and dumb questions. Luckily, I had such a question ready.

We've seen some interesting skills competition events in recent years, including the new Splash Shot dunk tank event and a golf-hockey hybrid here in Florida. Having players shoot from the stands in St. Louis a few years back was a fun idea, too. But what if the players got the chance to emulate a video game classic: What if they got to beat up a car, a la Street Fighter 2?

That bonus level was always fun to play, and you could modify it for hockey players by having them shoot pucks at an old car - heck, they could even thrash it with their stick if they wanted to, but the pucks might be more efficient.

"I like that, I would love to do that," said Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov. "When we played Nashville a couple years ago, they had a car outside the arena that fans could beat up."

Indeed, the Predators do have their 'Smashville' tradition that sees the locals take a sledgehammer to a car painted in the opponent's colors, so there is some precedent here. Since he knows all about it, I also asked Nashville's star goalie if he would participate.

"That would be cool," said Juuse Saros. "I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, I would like to take part."

Of course, goggles would be provided (safety first, kids) and hey, it might even be a stress reliever for these elite athletes.

"That would be satisfying, yeah," said Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon. "You have a bad day, you get to smash a car. That would be awesome."

I was actually surprised by how open-minded the players were to this idea, but it's clear that they do think about these events and where the NHL could go with them next. New York Islanders star Brock Nelson was also up for some car-smashing and had his own thoughts on the future.

"I'd be interested in something tennis-related, for enjoyment," he said. "I thought the Vegas (all-star skills event) one was pretty cool when they were shooting the blackjack cards and shattering the glass. This year seems fun too, with the golf-hockey combo."

And while he didn't participate in Splash Shot, Nelson was intrigued by that one, as well.

"That looked like a pretty fun time, as long as you weren't the one getting dunked," he said. "Though that could have felt good, too."