Should NHL fans vote for the starters of the NHL All-Star Game?

Ray Ferraro and I had this discussion on the set of NHL2Night earlier this week.

Fan participation is extremely important to hockey, maybe more than any other sport because the league is driven by gate revenue. Hockey fans are as - or even more - passionate than any other fan, in my opinion. Once someone has attended a game, once they have seen just how fast the pace is, how athletic the players are and how exciting a win by the home team can be, they stick with it. Why shouldn't they be allowed to vote for their favorite players?

A campaign by the Florida Panthers booster club, whose team will host this year's event, landed defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh a spot on Eastern Conference team. It's not like he can't play; he's not a fifth or sixth defenseman on his team. Mike Keenan relies on him for almost 30 minutes a game. He's been in several All-Star Games and has been on a Stanley Cup winner (1996 Colorado Avalanche). It's never a lock for the host city to have one of their own players in the starting lineup, but shouldn't local fans get a chance to cheer on a Panther?

I've been involved with ESPN and ABC's broadcast of the NHL All-Star Game for 10 years, and unless you get a peek behind the scenes, it's difficult to tell how much work goes into the weekend. There are hundreds of volunteers smiling and waiting to help out any way they can. They don't make millions of dollars a year to play a sport they love, but rather pay to see their team play, sometimes for 41 games a year. At all levels of hockey, booster clubs are at the core of each team's fan base. There are booster clubs in juniors, at colleges, in the minors and in the NHL. It's great to see them so active when it comes to getting their player in the lineup.

As far as injured defenseman Brian Leetch is concerned, does he deserve to go based on his season? He would be the first to say no, of course, but he is one of the game's most recognizable players and deserves all the accolades he gets. This isn't and won't be the last time this occurs and I can certainly live with that. Plus, in the end, if he has to be replaced because of the injury, it may open a spot for his teammate, Tom Poti, to take his player. After all, it is an offensive showcase.

Ray brought up an interesting idea that he and I both know will never fly. Wouldn't it be nice to see, for one year anyway, the defending Stanley Cup champions vs. an All-Star team? If that were the case, only 22 All-Stars would be chosen. Ray suggested the idea of presenting the Cup champions with their rings in an on-ice ceremony before the game. The NHL used this format for all but two years from 1947 to 1968 (the first year of the first expansion), and the game was held at the start of the season until it was moved to midseason in 1966-67.

Granted there would be critics (is it fair to have an entire team travel to and play an extra game?), but it would certainly bring back some much-needed competitiveness. You know the TV ratings would increase, just based on the loyal fan base from the Cup-winning team and the curiosity that comes with a group of other players who haven't played together matching up against a cohesive champion.

Tampa Bay's Nikolai Khabibulin and Colorado's Patrick Roy have been selected to start by the fans. Here are my picks for filling out the goaltending positions for both teams:

Western Conference
Jocelyn Thibault, Chicago Blackhawks: He has been consistent from Day One. The Hawks are very much in the thick of things in the West and he is a big reason why. He did some extra work during the offseason with Stephane Waite in Quebec and shored up his balance and technique. It shows.

Marty Turco, Dallas Stars: His goals-against average and save percentage are among the best in the NHL. His road GAA has been in the top three all season long and he seems to be accountable when he hasn't played his best, a quality teammates feed off. He is very confident and has prepared himself to be strong in the long run.

Eastern Conference
Ed Belfour, Toronto Maple Leafs: It'd be great to see him to head-to-head vs. Turco again, wouldn't it? How about the third period when the game is on the line? He has be brilliant, bouncing back from an off year last season. He feels wanted and that has always been the key for him to maintain his focus.

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils: Imagine if the Devils could score three goals a game? Brodeur doesn't face many shots, but that isn't his fault. I have him barely edging out Patrick Lalime of Ottawa. Carolina's Kevin Weekes looked like a lock during the early going, but he's has struggled since being injured.

Is Raycroft's time now?
With John Grahame gone from the Boston Bruins line-up, the door for 22-year-old Andrew Raycroft may be opening. I know that GM Mike O'Connell indicated on the ESPN2 game against Pittsburgh on Monday night that Raycroft will get at least a look. After that, who knows? Raycroft has the mental strength and composure to be a solid NHL goalie for a long time, but who's to say O'Connell isn't going to package the former Ontario Hockey League MVP -- the first goalie in 50 years to win the award -- in a big trade? Raycroft was told to pack for at least a week and is with the team in Florida and Atlanta. He has beaten Florida once in his career.

As far as Kyle McLaren is concerned, O'Connell won't waiver from his asking price of a top-four defenseman or a top-six forward in return.

Going for it
How about the aggressiveness of Avs rookie head coach Tony Granato? Against Carolina, he pulled David Aebischer with about two minutes to go to create a 6-on-4 power play. Rob Blake scored to tie the game after the Canes just missed the empty net.

Their best forward right now, Milan Hejduk, won it in OT on a great backhander. You have to like Granato's moxie. The Avs hired Rick Tocchet, a former teammate of Granato's in LA, to fill the vacant assistant's job. Tocchet doesn't have any coaching experience, which makes the bench young in that regard, but he and Granato have 31 years of playing experience and the respect of the guys on the bench. Plus, they have the underrated guidance of long-time assistant Jacques Cloutier.

Rangers coach Bryan Trottier told me at the team's Super Skate Celebrity hockey game at Madison Square Garden over the weekend that Cloutier taught him a lot about the little things in a game, especially the placement of players on defensive-zone faceoffs.

Speaking of the Super Skate Celebrity game in New York ... everyone enjoyed seeing actors Steve Harris (Eugene Young) and Michael Badalucco (Jimmy Berluti) from The Practice, who were hitting the ice in full gear for the first time. Harris is a native of Chicago and enjoyed watching the Bulls as he was growing up (the result of no home games on TV, I guess). He told me after the game he's into it now. Badalucco scored on me in the shoot-out and took home MVP honors. After winning the award he turned to me and said" "You have to come up and get it with me … you did all the work in letting me score!" He had a hard time skating, but you couldn't get the grin of his face. Nearly 10,000 fans showed up for the game and skills competition. Great work by the Rangers (and thanks for your hospitality, as always).

Darren Pang, a former goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.