NHL Commissioner teases a much more ''traditional'' All-Star Weekend in Toronto this season

The current iteration of the All-Star festivities include wild, "innovative" Skills Competitions that have almost become like a circus sideshow. Somewhere along the way, fans have stopped responding to it and maybe the NHL is finally catching on and preparing to do something about it.

Last night during Kraft Hockeyville coverage on Sportsnet, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed that there will be changes to the event this year. Bettman revealed that since the All-Star festivities were in Toronto this season, the plan is to tone down the event a bit as a way of paying tribute to the history of the event and that the All-Star Skills Competition will be a bit more traditional.

Bettman was careful not to drop too many details so early, but it's nice to know that the NHL is finally paying attention to the fact that people are losing interest in All-Star Weekend and are actually trying to do something about it.

Personally, I began to lose interest when the whole "best-on-best" idea went away and shifted more towards an "every team gets at least one representative" approach. Yes, it's inclusive, but it's not what's best for the event itself. I've also never really been a big fan of the 3-on-3 format. It's a far cry from traditional hockey and has more of a "back yard tournament" feel, which I'm not really into. Yes, there are some exciting moments, but it's not really hockey in my eyes. 5v5 will always be the ticket, at least in my mind.

I'll be looking forward to seeing some of these changes and what Bettman alluded to as being a more traditional approach to All-Star Weekend.