The final cannon shot echoed through Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The 2015 NHL All-Star Game had concluded, a January afternoon of nearly unwatchable hockey, despite 29 goals between “Team Toews” and “Team Foligno."

Donald Fehr, the executive director of the NHLPA, and John Collins, COO of the National Hockey League, met in Columbus and had a conversation about the event. What worked. What didn’t. What really didn’t.

Once the event tanked in the ratings, the seeds of that conversation took full bloom in an ongoing exchange of ideas between the players, the league and the game’s television partners.

“We sat down and we said that we don’t seem to be getting the bang for our buck at All-Star. Let’s reevaluate what we’re trying to do at All-Star,” said Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to the executive director of the NHLPA. “Everyone was in agreement that it needs to be something special and unique. It should be a great weekend for hockey, and it hasn’t seemed to be translating like that for the last few years.”

That sentiment was echoed by Tom Cigarran, owner of the Nashville Predators, who would host the next NHL All-Star Game in January 2016. The Predators have a hefty investment in All-Star Weekend, and the last thing the team wanted was for the lingering bad taste of the previous All-Star Game to dampen the enthusiasm for theirs.

“We felt very strongly that we wanted to make this the best All-Star Game ever. There was negative feedback about the All-Star Game, so why not make a change?” said Predators GM David Poile.

“And once we saw the 3-on-3 overtime format … for most hockey guys, general mangers or owners of the clubs as well as the players, we thought it was time to try something different and make it special.”

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According to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, speaking with the Predators’ website, a 3-on-3 tournament format was one of the initial thoughts the NHL had regarding a format change. There was just one problem: No one knew if the 3-on-3, which had been implemented as a new overtime format this season, was going to be successful or not.

“When we drew this up originally, we really didn’t have a whole lot of experience with 3-on-3 and even when we were considering it as an alternative for regular-season overtime, we really didn’t know what it would look like,” Daly said. “I would say the first month and a half of the season, it’s been a smashing success; it’s been some of the most compelling segments of the games.”

The NHL pushed the NHLPA on the format change; last Friday, the players signed off on the one-year All-Star format experiment, with some reservations.

“I’ve watched quite a few 3-on-3s this year. You get a mixed bag,” said Schneider. “A majority of guys seem happy with it, and it was worth trying.”

WHY THE OLD FORMAT WAS SCRAPPED

The last three NHL All-Star Games saw two team captains, and their assistant captains, selecting rosters from a pool of players in an All-Star Fantasy Draft on Friday, before they competed in the skills competition on Saturday and the traditional 5-on-5 game on Sunday.

The draft night was … well-lubricated. Players were candid. Some were a wee tipsy. While the fans ate up the unpredictable vibe, it wasn’t exactly the kind of advertisement for the game the NHL wanted.

Frankly, it wasn’t something the players enjoyed either.

“I think the concept was neat. In the beginning,” said Schneider. “But it was a couple things: Players generally feel uncomfortable. They felt like they had to entertain. It’s not really what they do, and they felt uncomfortable out there.

“But the second thing was that there was always a concern about the bottom picks, you know? We got our best guys in the world up there, and someone’s always going to get embarrassed, no matter what you do for them. And at the end of the day, he’s an all-star. He’s one of the best players in the game. Why would we want to do this? It’s tough to reconcile with some of the players.”

Schneider said being an all-star had, in some ways, lost its luster for the players. The fantasy draft was awkward. The game itself wasn’t exactly a thrill. Over the years, players looked at it more as a chore than an honor to be selected as an all-star.

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