2016 All-Star Skills Fastest Skater

[flip12 735]

From the NHL.com description:

"Four players from each team will test their speed, facing off against an opponent in a two-skater race. The race track for the head-to-head match-ups is the border of the rink split in half lengthways. Timing devices will record each skater to determine the winner of each match. If a race ends in a tie, each of the teams will be awarded one point. The skater with the fastest time in the head-to-head match-ups will skate a full lap of the outside border of the rink, in the direction of their choosing, in an attempt to break Mike Gartner's record (13.386). If, at the completion of the event, two skaters are tied for the fastest overall time, both skaters will skate a full lap of the rink in an attempt to break the historical best record."

It's so silly they keep a "record" when they haven't been consistent about the track, how long the lap is: do the nets get pulled out to the top of the crease like in Gartner's top times? To the bottom of the crease like in other years or not at all like in yet other competitions? It's like the International Athleticas Association keeping rigorous (down to the thousandths of a second!) record of all-time bests when they aren't precise about the lap length: 400 meters or 410, who's counting, eh? Apparently them. But then again, not really.

It'll be fun to see some of the new guys skate in an all-out race, and to see how the top full-lap times are in the finalists' race this year. But it's not as informative as the NHL likes to pretend.

Edit: Just noticed the bonus clause: extra point to the team if a player competing in the lap race breaks Gartner's record. That's funny. Are they embarrassed that the record is so old? I wonder if the equipment manufacturers are buggin' about it.