Mike Milbury, America’s answer to Don Cherry, rarely has been shy about expressing strong and critical opinions on hockey matters. So one might imagine that asking the NBC analyst and former Bruins defenseman and coach about the NHL All-Star Game would invite an extremely negative and snarky response.

A bit of a surprise, though: While Milbury, like most good hockey people, has disdained the game for a long time — despised might be a better word — he actually likes the fact the league is trying something new this year.

Tonight in Nashville, four teams representing each of the NHL’s divisions will compete in a mini-tournament of 20-minute, 3-on-3 games. The players on the winning team will earn about $90,000 each.

It’s an effort by the league to restore some semblance of competition to an event that has turned into an utter joke, a disgrace and affront to the values — effort, discipline, teamwork — that make hockey a great sport. The All-Star Game’s score last year was 17-12.

“For me, for many years, it’s been a slog,” Milbury said. “It’s not fun to watch after the introductions and maybe the first five minutes or so. Fans figure out pretty quickly what it is: A dull, uncompetitive contest. It’s boring. No one cares whether you win or lose.

“It slowly, gradually became not really much fun to watch. I don’t know how anybody could sit through three periods of it. The league has finally recognized that.”

Milbury tried to do something about it back in 1991, when, the then-Bruins coach led the Eastern Conference All-Star squad, and named B’s tough guy Chris Nilan and unsung defenseman Garry Galley, plus Montreal checker Brian Skrudland to his team — leaving off stars such as Guy Lafleur and Kirk Muller.

“I made those selections because I always felt there were different types of stars,” Milbury said. “A lot of the guys who were vital to the success of a team were never really recognized. That’s why I made those selections.”

Milbury gets a good laugh recalling the 1978 All-Star Game in Buffalo, when Bruins forward Terry O’Reilly played almost as though it was a regular game.

“He ticked everybody off so much, because he tried so hard,” Milbury said. “He almost wound up in a fight. That gave some watchability to the game. We remember it because it was so rare. But the All-Star Game has slowly evolved into reality TV.”

Games in the 1970s and ’80s, maybe into the ’90s, were actually competitive — with scores as low as 2-1.

“They were better,” Milbury said. “First of all, people weren’t making the kind of money they make now, and they didn’t have the social media that makes everything sort of a showcase of each person’s personality, not just his hockey talents.

“I think it was a point of pride, East vs. West, in winning the game. There was never much communication between players on different teams, so there was that sort of distance and natural competitiveness among NHL players.”

Now, of course, players are all loyal union members, share agents and attend the same golf tournaments, charity events, etc. — so All-Star affaires became devoid of physical play or defensive effort.

“This format is a major change,” Milbury said. “The best part of (NHL) hockey right now is the 3-on-3 overtime. I don’t care what other people tell me — it keeps my attention more than any other part of the game. It’s fast, it’s skilled, it’s competitive, and when you take a chance at one end and it doesn’t go in, you leave yourself open to a counterattack at the other end.

“The question is whether the guys will take it seriously. I’m a little worried about the length of the games. Twenty minutes might be a little long, because guys have to keep up a pretty hectic pace in 3-on-3.”

It was suggested to him that most players will give only half-efforts defensively — leading to 20 minutes of breakaways and outmanned rushes.

“Yeah, that’s probably how it’s going to be,” Milbury said with a laugh. “I don’t know if they’re going to compete at it. I hope they put a little effort into it. You’ve got guys like (Chicago’s Jonathan) Toews and (Bruins center Patrice) Bergeron who always put in a great effort on the ice. Maybe a few others will, too.

“I hope the guys take it as an opportunity to really make the game look like fun. For a league that is offensively challenged, this could be good fun.

“But we’ll see how it goes. At least it’s a try. I hope that it brings good results, because the other alternative is to just to stop holding an all-star game.”

Though the average NHL salary is some $2.7 million — and most of the All-Star players earn more — Milbury thinks the prize money could give players incentive for a more honest effort.

“To give all the prize money to the winning team is a pretty interesting concept,” he said. “For some guys who are younger and aren’t earning $10 million, it could make a nice difference. Even for the guys earning the $10 million, (nearly) $100,000 is nice to have sitting in your wallet.”

Ultimately, the NHL All-Star Game is mostly a chance for the league to entertain and schmooze its richest sponsors. And if fans are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a ticket, it’s a chance for the league to make a tidy profit.

“I understand the business side of it,” Milbury said. “They’re trying to celebrate the sport, and they bring all their stars to one town and it becomes ‘An Event.’ They certainly make money off it. The ticket prices are outrageous.

“I don’t think it’s been worth it, for my money. But the NHL obviously has felt it’s deteriorated to the point where they had to make a change in it. Whether this change works and delivers a better product . . . well, it’s up the players, if they want to play harder, if they want to make the game competitive again, they can.

“I am curious for this one and hopeful that it’s going to be better. I know a lot of people think it’s going to be more of the same. But for me, at least they’re trying it this way. If this does work, maybe in a few years they’ll change the format again.”

This week’s ?B’s timeline

Tuesday, vs. Toronto 7:05 p.m. — The Maple Leafs are a more structured and harder working team under coach Mike Babcock and GM Lou Lamoriello, but the results still aren’t good. The Leafs stand 15th in the East at 17-22-9, including three losses to the Bruins.

Thursday, at Buffalo 7:05 p.m. — The start of a home-and-home vs. Jack Eichel and the Sabres, who are improved but still not looking like a playoff team. They’ve split two games vs. the Bruins, winning a wild one at the Garden Dec. 26, 6-3, while the B’s won in Buffalo Jan. 15.

Saturday, vs. Buffalo 7:05 p.m. — Eichel, the North Chelmsford and BU product, is second in points (34) and goals (16) and third in assists (18) among NHL rookies. In his last five games before the break, he had 3-4-7 totals and plus-2.