Will the John Scott soap opera affect NHL ASG viewing?

If someone had said before the start of the 2015-2016 NHL season that the most talked about player headed into the All-Star Game would be John Scott, that person would have been deemed clinically insane.

But with a little under two weeks until the midseason festivities, the notorious bruiser and his ASG status is the talk of the league. That talk has only intensified since being traded across conferences and then reassigned to the AHL, which has challenged whether or not he will be able to participate in the game at all.

What’s even more interesting is the heightened support for the Edmonton native to be allowed to attend the big game in Nashville since the trade from Arizona to Montreal has seemingly jeopardized whether he can participate. It begs the question: How is the viewing public going to react if John Scott isn’t allowed to participate?

Former teammates have already spoken on the matter. San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, who will participate in his first All-Star Game, reportedly told the San Jose Mercury News that “a lot of guys would be disappointed” if Scott can’t participate. Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic reportedly told Kevin Kurz of Comcast SportsNet that he is “less likely” to watch the game is Scott isn’t allowed to play.

Is that going to be the trend? Is the NHL’s heavily promoted three-on-three All-Star tournament losing its luster because John Scott can’t attend?

The possibility doesn’t  appear to be making hockey faithful too happy. Whether he was voted in as a joke or not, there is widespread disapproval for Scott being the one paying the price for it. Arizona has been accused of trading him so he wouldn’t represent the Coyotes at the ASG. There's belief that Montreal bumped him down to the AHL affiliate St. John’s IceCaps as a means of further keeping him out of ASG participation. There are shirts and signs and other forms of support being shown to insist that John Scott be allowed to play.

How things have changed. Opinions from everyone from broadcasters to spectators as to whether fans voting Scott as the Pacific Division captain were varied a couple months ago. Many called it mean-spirited, since the winger has drawn more ire than praise during his tenure in the league. But even when Scott asked that the joke campaign for his ASG ticket be directed elsewhere, fans continued to give him their votes. Scott himself then changed his tune toward going, Yahoo Sports helps explain:

Scott’s feelings about the campaign and his election as Pacific Division captain have shifted over time. While he didn’t encourage it, he’s embraced it. 

“I talked about this, maybe too much. I obviously didn’t want to get voted in that way, but the fans wanted me in. So I kind of just went with it,” he said. “It was exciting. Big surprise. I was happy with it.”

Fans across the league began embracing his ASG admission too. And when news arose that Scott was part of a trade between the Coyotes and Habs, the first questions that arose were something akin to: “Does this mean that John Scott can’t participate in the All-Star Game anymore?” “Is the league trying to punish Scott for getting into the All-Star Game because of fan voting gone awry?”

When asked on Sunday about the ongoing debacle, Scott admitted that he still didn’t have an answer on whether or not the NHL was going to let him go, either.

“I wish I had the answer,” the towering forward told the media scrum with a smile and a shrug. “I haven’t heard anything from the league or anything. So I don’t know what the position is or where everybody stands right now. Still kind of up in the air.”

While the decision stays up in the air, the support for Scott continues to pour in. So if the final decision from the league is to not let Scott participate, it will be interesting to see how it affects how the All-Star Game is viewed.