John Scott deserved better from Gary Bettman and the NHL

This may not include any white hot St. Louis Blues breaking news(it's the All Star Break and no Jaden Schwartz isn't ready yet so shut it), but I have a soft spot for enforcers so bear with me here.

One of the league's best sheriffs(Tony Twist's label), John Scott, got hosed by the NHL this past month. After the fans voted him in for the All Star Game, the Arizona Coyotes and the NHL tag teamed Scott's season and life and ended up shipping not only to the Montreal Canadiens but to the Habs minor league team. In case you haven't read Scott's stirring Players Tribune entry(show some damn respect and do it here), the NHL had the nerve to ask Scott if this(playing in the freaking All Star game) would be something his two little girls would be proud of. Personally, I would have Go Funded Me the shit out of Scott's bail if he had walked into Gary Bettman's office that day, punched him repeatedly in the face and body slammed him on top of his oak carved desk.

Come to think of it, the Skills Competition is missing something this weekend. It's missing a segment where Scott punches Bettman repeatedly for sixty seconds with his special All Star gloves on. Yeah, that'd be cool. Let Chuck Norris referee that shit. Anyway...

The NHL has treated Scott like dog shit during this ordeal. Instead of embracing something they created(the FAN VOTE), they have turned their back on one of its true soldiers. A 33 year old guy who has worn more jerseys than most players yet still plays because his kids love it, he gets paid handsomely, and oh, let me remember, it's fucking hockey. One of the greatest live experiences a human being can have on this Earth.

Scott may not be as talented as Ovie(who is skipping the game to rest his ego and hopefully learn how to tie a Windsor knot) or Jonathan "I look like Tobey's Maguire's lame cousin" Toews, but he has bleed for this league and this job. He didn't pick a fight on ice before he was 23 but in 10 years he has become a man most men avoid on the ice(ask D.J. King if you can find him). Someone they think twice about before they go after a star player on Scott's team. That's respect. That's tenure. That demands some class. The NHL can't make this right. They never will be able to return those ungrateful words.

I don't follow Scott like most probably do but I respect the shit out of him. He isn't some useless hunk of flesh. He's an NHL hockey player. Something little kids(right around the age of Scott's youngest daughter) dream about when they step on that sheet of ice. Something millions dream about when they watch Vladimir Tarasenko turn opposing hockey players into paralyzed mimes on the ice.

Scott is a legit NHL player, got voted in(it wasn't rigged assholes), and deserved better. What more can I say? This really pisses me off. I'm a fan of enforcers. I'm an old school Broad Street Bully Dave Schultz loving mongrel assassin. They are a dying breed and Scott(along with Ryan Reaves) are one of the league's true tough guys. If Reaves was somehow voted on and then told to step down, Blues fans would charge the gates and demand Bettman to reenact a scene from Last of The Mohicans.

I hope Scott scores a goal Sunday. Shit, I hope he scores two. If I were his teammates, I'd set him up for as many one timers as possible. Let him raise those hands a couple of times and maybe underneath his glove, hold up the middle finger to the established order that tried to keep him from something he may not have deserved in the first place, but should have been given anyway.

If the NHL didn't like this, they can change their rules. Since you are in charge, that's your right. It wasn't your right to screw over Scott, a hard working grunt. He was a cherished teammate on Arizona and helping a young team grow. Now he will be busy taking selfies of P.K. Subban if he is lucky. Right now, he resides in St. Johns(Ross Rhea, bitches!!). What a full unguarded serving of bullshit.

Once again, Scott deserves a backroom meeting with Bettman or whoever told him that sickening line on Sunday. Before he catches a bus back to the minors(clinches fist).

He at least deserves a role in Goon 3.

Classless, NHL. Just class-less. Maybe Gary was just jealous that unlike his weak boy name, John Scott has two strong first names.