RALEIGH, North Carolina: While the NFL and NBA are facing labor uncertainty, the NHL is taking a moment to puff out its chest as it heads into an All-Star weekend unlike any other. Six years after a full season was lost, the NHL finds itself in a unique position of negotiated calm and unprecedented success. The NHL will never enjoy the revenue streams the NFL produces, but the little brother league can relate to the uncertainty that threatens upcoming American football and basketball games. The NHL certainly likes its current view, far away from the storm. The league expects total revenue to rise for the fifth straight year to nearly $2.9 billion. League-generated revenue was believed to be going up by 14 percent — an 85 percent jump over the past four years. “The league is extremely well positioned,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “The vital signs are good and we anticipate continued growth and momentum.” And now the NHL is pushing the envelope. While the league and All-Star game will take a big hit because Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby — the face of the league and its most popular player — is out with a concussion, at least there is another hook to draw people in. Aside from taking the All-Star game outside — a la the Winter Classic on New Year's Day — it is hard to envision a more radical change to the format that seemingly worked for years. This year's teams was to be chosen by a televised draft Friday. Brendan Shanahan is proving to be every bit as creative an executive as he was in building a Hall of Fame-caliber playing career. The eight-time All-Star, now the NHL's vice president of hockey and business development, worked with the league and the players' association to develop a plan that fans could relate to even more than the All-Stars themselves. Instead of dividing the players by conference or nationality, both tried and true methods, the All-Star teams won't be set until the captains make their picks. This is where fantasy meets reality. The draft is such an interesting concept, the NHL is running the risk that it will overshadow the game. Eric Staal of the host Carolina Hurricanes will serve as captain of the aptly named “Team Staal,” and along with his alternate captains — Washington defenseman Mike Green and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler — will stage a draft against Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and his assistants Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Patrick Kane of Chicago on “Team Lidstrom.” One by one, All-Stars will be plucked off the board until both squads are set for Saturday's skills competition and Sunday's game — the first since 2009 after a one-year hiatus created by the Vancouver Olympics.
