NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jaromir Jagr wishes he wasn't at the All-Star Game.
The NHL's oldest player, who will turn 44 next month, would rather be working out and skating in South Florida.
"I have to be here," Jagr lamented Friday. "I don't want to be suspended."
The league suspended superstars Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks for the first game after the break because they pulled out of All-Star festivities, citing an illness and lower-body injury, respectively.
As a key player for the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers, Jagr didn't want to miss even one game that counts.
"I love the idea of the All-Stars and it's good for the fans," he said. "But for me personally, at my age, I know what I need for the rest of the season and maybe the playoffs."
The five-time scoring champion, two-time Stanley Cup winner and 1999 NHL MVP asked fans, via his Twitter account, not to vote for him last month. They didn't listen, giving him enough votes to be named Atlantic Division captain in Sunday's 3-on-3 format that he isn't used to playing — and might not extensively in Nashville with his coach Gerard Gallant calling the shots.
"I don't play (3 on 3) much in Florida, and we have the same coach," Jagr said with a hearty chuckle. Jagr said he doesn't know how much longer he'll play in the NHL, insisting he's focused on playing well the rest of this season. He does think this will be his 10th and final All-Star game appearance.
He hasn't played in the showcase since the 2003-04 season, which he split between Washington and with the New York Rangers. Jagr merited another showing because he doesn't appear to be slowing down. He has scored 15 goals, one off the team high, and has 33 points, one fewer than Jonathan Huberdeau's team-leading total.
"Even the players can't believe that this guy is playing at the level he is," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.
The All-Star skills competition Saturday will feature six events: fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting, skills challenge relay, hardest shot and the shootout.
Enforcer Scott 'welcome'
at All-Star Game: Bettman
John Scott expects the NHL to change the fan vote for the All-Star Game to keep someone like himself from ever being picked again. For now, he is busy soaking up every minute of his very unexpected weekend with some of the world's best hockey players.
"They should do something if they don't want this to happen again," Scott said Friday at media day. "I think it's a good thing for the game. It's gotten a lot of publicity. It's gotten a lot of people excited to watch the game, so you never know. It could be a good thing."
Fans voted the 6-foot-8 Scott as captain of the Pacific Division, though Arizona traded him to Montreal and he is now at the Canadiens' AHL affiliate in Newfoundland. In an essay posted Thursday on The Players Tribune, Scott said someone at the NHL tried to take him out of participating in the All-Star game this weekend.
Hoping to defuse an awkward situation that has hovered over preparations for the league's showcase event, Commissioner Gary Bettman talked with the career enforcer and told him he is welcome here. Bettman told The Associated Press that he had a nice chat with Scott Thursday night.
"And he's more than welcome to be here," Bettman said. "We're happy he's here. The fans spoke, and we're happy to reflect their will." — AP
