Habs fans stuff the ballot box on Day 1

by James Mirtle on Nov 13, 2008 12:09 AM CST Comment 40 comments

Twenty four hours into the 2009 all-star voting, and it's looking like there'll be a whole lotta Canadiens in the lineup come Jan. 25.

Here's a look at the top vote getters so far, by conference (keep in mind the NHL only reveals the top 10 forwards, 10 defencemen and five goaltenders):

	Player	Team	Votes	Player	Team	Votes
1	LUONGO, Roberto	Van	30,113	PRICE, Carey	Mon	61,253
2	LIDSTROM, Nick	Det	28,339	MARKOV, Andrei	Mon	58,172
3	MORROW, B.	Dal	24,455	KOMISAREK, M.	Mon	54,007
4	RIBEIRO, Mike	Dal	24,074	KOIVU, Saku	Mon	53,733
5	PHANEUF, Dion	Cal	21,563	KOVALEV, Alex	Mon	51,913
6	KOIVU, Mikko	Min	20,763	TANGUAY, Alex	Mon	51,364
7	TURCO, Marty	Dal	19,296	SEMIN, Alexander	Was	27,103
8	ROBIDAS, S.	Dal	18,855	LUNDQVIST, H.	NYR	21,398
9	ZETTERBERG, H.	Det	18,260	CHARA, Zdeno	Bos	19,165
10	IGINLA, Jarome	Cal	16,090	OVECHKIN, Alex	Was	17,607
11	DATSYUK, Pavel	Det	15,605	LECAVALIER, V.	TB	15,274
12	HOSSA, Marian	Det	15,180	TIMONEN, K.	Phi	14,289
13	MODANO, Mike	Dal	14,543	GAGNE, Simon	Phi	14,277
14	RAFALSKI, Brian	Det	12,547	THOMAS, Tim	Bos	13,816
15	SOURAY, S.	Edm	12,538	GREEN, Mike	Was	12,486
16	BOYLE, Dan	SJ	9,898	CROSBY, Sidney	Pit	11,413
17	TOEWS, Jonathan	Chi	9,689	SAVARD, Marc	Bos	11,293
18	KANE, Patrick	Chi	9,661	BERGERON, P.	Bos	10,800
19	ZUBOV, Sergei	Dal	9,061	HAMRLIK, R.	Mon	8,752
20	BURNS, Brent	Min	9,026	WARD, Aaron	Bos	6,860
21	BACKSTROM, N.	Min	8,738	KABERLE, T.	Tor	6,839
22	NABOKOV, E.	SJ	7,614	COBURN, B.	Phi	4,982
23	CAMPBELL, Brian	Chi	6,567	FLEURY, M.	Pit	4,546
24	WEBER, Shea	Nas	5,204	MILLER, Ryan	Buf	4,491
25	OSGOOD, Chris	Det	3,524	GONCHAR, S.	Pit	4,433
			371,203			560,266

Fifty players are shown on the leaderboard and 18 of the NHL's 30 teams are represented in that group. Of the 930,000 votes shown here, 37 per cent went to Canadiens players, who also make up an incredible 60 per cent of the 560,000 Eastern Conference votes among the top 25 listed players.

PuckStopsHere had a great comment on yesterday's thread about the fiasco this could create with the lineup (albeit in a game that doesn't mean beans):

Let’s assume that the voting holds up as it has in the very early returns and we get a 6 Montreal Canadien strating lineup. Assuming the 21 player roster we have seen in the last few all star games and assuming the one player per team must be in the all star game rule, that leaves only 15 roster spots for the 14 other East Conference teams. Now that could leave some very deserving All Stars on the sidelines. ...

I really shouldn’t care much about Habs fans (or anyone else) stuffing the ballot box. I do care if it means some of the best players in the game get left out of all star game as a result.

Although it's worth noting that the league hasn't strictly adhered to the "every team gets a player" rule in recent years.

How could this become a true disaster? Imagine for a moment if the movement from Stars fans to vote in Morrow, Ribeiro, Modano, Robidas, Zubov and Turco succeeds — the NHL would then have a 42-player all-star game with almost 30 per cent of its representatives from two teams.

And one would be Marty Turco.

I'll be keeping an eye on the votes because, as I said yesterday, the results this year are quite possibly going to be a major story come January. And probably not in a good way.

** In the time it took me to write this post (about 25 minutes), Carey Price has racked up 1,597 more votes — a rate of about one per second (and it's 1 a.m.). The Habs players are miles ahead of anyone right now.

Poll

Is it a problem if the Canadiens have six representatives at the 2009 all-star game?

Yes

401 votes

No

161 votes

562 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 40 comments | Add comment | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

On one hand I kinda expected to see a strong Montreal push since the game is in Montreal AND it’s the centennial celebration of the team. But six starters? And how is it Kovalev has nearly 40,000 more votes than Ovechkin?

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 13, 2008 7:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Or Crosby not even in the Top 15? Do fans outside of Pittsburgh hate him that much?

by Afino on Nov 13, 2008 7:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Eh, I kinda find that hard to believe since he tallied the most votes last season.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 13, 2008 8:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Montreal ballot box stuffing aside, perhaps Alex Semin’s fantastic start to the season is splintering off would-be Ovechkin votes – there’s no question who the better Caps LW has been so far this season.

by J.P. on Nov 13, 2008 7:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I know I’ve been voting up Semin instead of OV.

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Nov 13, 2008 7:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And is it a combination of that and the fact that some fans feel the league would make sure Ovechkin gets in no matter what??

Might as well vote for Semin too, right? I know Semin’s been on my ballot a couple of times already.

by Afino on Nov 13, 2008 8:03 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

1) No one can complain if one teams’ fans “stuff the box”. Its the nature of the beast when you allow fan voting. It happens in baseball as well.
2) Of course the NHL will ‘find or lose votes’ (like they did with the Fitzpatrick fiasco 2 seasons ago) in order to even things out a bit. ; )

by Fauxrumors on Nov 13, 2008 7:29 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Turco

Don’t look now, but Turco has passed Luongo in the rankings. Now THAT would be a sham(e).

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 7:39 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Last season Gonchar was off the ballot but enough people voted for him to get him into the game. Now this season he’s off the ice and on the ballot. It doesn’t balance out. My head is going to explode.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 13, 2008 8:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

"all star" game

to be honest the hockey all star game is a bit of a joke so…send in the clowns, cue Montreal fans or any other ballot stuffing make a mockery of the sport folks.

by powerplay on Nov 13, 2008 8:17 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

There is a precedent for the league stepping in if they choose. In the 70s, Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed the ballot boxes to elect most of their starting lineup to the NL All-Star team. The league stepped in an limited the number of starters the Reds would have so that other teams could be represented.

Down Goes Brown - Because it's technically possible that things may get better before we all die.

by Down Goes Brown on Nov 13, 2008 8:53 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Good

This is ridiculous. Why even have a vote? Why not have the coaches pick the team? Why even care about a stupid all-star game? If this is what Habs fans need to have in order to deal with the fact that their team isn’t going to win the Stanley Cup this year then let them have it.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Nov 13, 2008 8:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We get our centennial celebration in the 2016-2017 season. I think the Leafs have a good shot at the cup that year.

If you’ll all excuse me I’m going to go kill myself.

Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.

by Chemmy on Nov 13, 2008 10:06 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

"This is ridiculous. Why even have a vote?"

Same thing I said yesterday.

Why bother? The NHL has to step in one way or another and either limit the number of Habs players, expand the all-star roster to accomodate some of the other East players who WILL be snubbed due to this, or just call off the whole voting thing and just have the entire Habs team play the Western Conference.

Actually, that’s not a half bad idea…..

by Afino on Nov 13, 2008 10:16 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

After the Vote For Rory election rigging done by the league, I will vote for anyone who can screw up the system the most. Go Habs Go!

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Nov 13, 2008 9:39 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

This just in

habs fans are not only stuffing the box, but they’re doing so illegally.

From PUCKDADDY and PENSBLOG:

http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nhl_experts__15/ept_sports_nhl_experts-795283910-1226589814.jpg?ym3pdUADuyHRpbZT

stay classy, Montreal.

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 9:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Leave it to the French…

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 13, 2008 9:59 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And it’s only a matter of time (if it already hasn’t) that this makes its way to the Habs section of the HF Boards.

Then, really look out…..

by Afino on Nov 13, 2008 10:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

stay classy, Montreal.

Well, at least they aren’t rioting….yet.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Nov 13, 2008 10:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Seeing as how this was done by a bunch of nerds, I’d imagine we’ll see computers and officer servers on fire in the streets of Montreal. Overturned desks and fax machines – it will be pandemonium.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 13, 2008 11:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the actual site is here:
http://forum.canadiens.com/index.php?s=93d3f3fd1cae1fa418689ba16bf07763&showtopic=21619&st=100&p=1330414&#entry1330414

pay special attention to posts by “tomzilla.”

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 9:58 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not surprising

People have been running these bots since the Rory campaign for many different schemes. The Sabres and Stars fans have used them in past years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Stars fans are using them yet again. There’s just a few more Habs fans that might be willing to download this than other teams.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 13, 2008 11:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I see what you did there

the ol’ “other people did it first” defense. ;)

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Nov 13, 2008 12:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Habs Fan

I am a habs fan and should the habs have an extra couple players represented. Sure any home team should. Should they have the 6 starters no.

Put the all star voting back to the media. 2 from each market, can’t vote for your own team etc….. The media would like as they can be all high and mighty and trying to represent the tradition of the game. Then for the reserves have the coach pick the reserves trying to maintain 1 player from each team. All star games are not what they used to be.

This is the fault of the vote Rory campaign, in IMHO

Leafs selling hope to the hopeless since 1967

by Toe Blake Hockey on Nov 13, 2008 12:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

so the fact that habs fans are cheating is the Rory campaign’s fault? Terrific logic.

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 12:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Everyone’s cheating, so it’s the system that’s at fault. Does anyone actually believe that many people have already voted that many times? For any of these guys?

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 13, 2008 12:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

it’s certainly the system’s fault that habs fans are cheating like crazy. Again, great logic.

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 1:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

When there’s no consequence, is it really cheating? I mean, what’s going to happen to these fans? Their NHL.com account will be revoked?

They could impliment safeguards that limit voting. But they don’t.

Anyways, I’d rather see the Habs play the Iowa Chops than the All Star Game, so if the Habs end up playing a team of Western All-Stars, I might actually be inclined to watch. I’ll probably still be doing my laundry at the same time, though. Maybe vaccuming as well.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 13, 2008 1:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Washing dishes?

by James Mirtle on Nov 13, 2008 1:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that’s what I did last year. :)

Maybe re-arrange my CD’s and DVD’s. Vaccuming might not be as involved, as hopefully I’ve managed to keep the floor fairly clean since the thorough post-Christmas tree taking down vaccum.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 13, 2008 1:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Also, if you noticed on the habs board, habs fans are writing programs that vote for specific western conference players as well, which, if we believe the posts, explains why dallas and detroit have the most votes.

by toaster56 on Nov 13, 2008 1:05 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t understand why they don’t just setup the site to only allow votes every 10-15 minutes or so. That’d really cut down on the nonsense.

fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Nov 13, 2008 1:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Or, you know, only allow people to vote once.

Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.

by Chemmy on Nov 13, 2008 1:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I can see how they’d love the idea of people getting really into this, spending all sorts of time voting. It creates a buzz around the starters whereas if they were just announced, most of us wouldn’t give a hoot.

by James Mirtle on Nov 13, 2008 1:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Performing Routine Maintenance

Or clearing out the robo-votes?

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Nov 13, 2008 4:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

please explain to me why any of you are gettting mad about this, half of you dont even like the all star game so then why do you even care who wins it. you’re just angry because habs fans are real fans and obviously none of you have read the rules on the voting site because it says that any robo votes or w/e you like to call them wont be counted… the reason the habs have more votes then anyone is because again they are real fans and they vote as often as possible .. instead of bitching because a team you dont like is winning why dont you go do something about it and vote yourselves instead of sitting here and complaining. its obvious montreal has the larger fan base so why dont you just deal with it.

by bx2 on Nov 13, 2008 5:18 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Haha

If Montreal did indeed have a larger fan base, then logic would dictate that they wouldn’t have to resort to cheating and stuffing the ballot box to get their players in no?

"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

by Winkle on Nov 14, 2008 7:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Defensive much?

Just because it’s in the rules not to do it doesn’t mean it isn’t being done. I watch the all-star game, and want my guys to have a fair shot of making it in. Simple as that.

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Nov 13, 2008 6:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Theoretically I have no problem with one team having many players in the all-star game, but the Hads do not deserve it.

As for the bots, I think we can trust that these votes will be filtered out and will not count in the end. From a server side perspective votes at this rate from a greesemonkey script would be very obvious, and easy to take account for.

Blue and Gold (of Buffalo)

by Ebscer on Nov 13, 2008 6:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bettman knows that any news with respect to all-star voting is good news. To him, there’s nothing better than seeing people up in arms about this.

I personally hope this whole thing blows up in his face and shows again what a fraud of a commissioner he is, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the numbers magically work out fairly for all the teams at the very last second. I don’t think it would surprise Rory Fitzpatrick either.

by thepenismightier on Nov 14, 2008 10:11 AM CST reply actions 0 recs