NHL Awards-Reaction to the show

Well after watching the NHL Awards last night, I had alot of mixed reactions to it. I have alot of problems with the show and saw alot of positives.

Positives:

• Winners: I agreed with everyone who won last night, despite my picks being wrong. I never have real issues with stuff like that, especially when someone like Hendrik Sedin, Ryan Miller and Duncan Keith winning and getting the respect they rightfully deserve. Plus hear Jose Theodore's speech was a total tear-jerker.
• The Stage: I loved it big time. I thought it added alot to the show. I loved how they had the jerseys in the air that changed with each award with the color of the player and their # and then when they won all three jerseys changed to their. It was well done and something I'd never seen before.
• Former Players: It's always great to see the legends of the game. This was the main difference on the night. I think the players that accepted awards from the legends like Ted Lindsay, Guy Lafleur and Mark Messier, actually felt more respected, then the ones who got them from random celebrities.
• USA Army: Okay this was a HUGE surprise and you can see the joy in Shane Doan's face when he received the King Clancy straight from the US Army soldiers. It was a great moment.

Negatives:

• Jay Mohr: What the hell? This was a TERRIBLE hosting job. His jokes bombed. His impressions were off. And overall I felt him being there was a total waste of time. Besides a maybe C-list comedian is the best the NHL could do to host this show? Gary said it perfectly last night: "Jay Mohr was bombing so bad I heard Al Qaeda is trying to recruit him.
• Random Celebrities: I had alot of issues throughout the night that all these celebrities didn't care about the sport, respect the game or even know the history of the awards they were giving out. They were paid to be there and it very obvious. I know that the NHL was using them to expose the game and awards to mass media but as a long time fan, it was awful.
• Music Performances: Ugh! I didn't turn into the NHL Awards to watch Snoop Dogg, Shinedown or the Goo Goo Dolls. And also what the hell was Cirque De Soleil doing there? Just because they were in Vegas right? At times if it didn't say Versus on the bottom of the screen, I thought I had changed the station. This was a terrible idea. In general. Also it led to my biggest problem of the night...
• Acceptance Speeches Cut-off: This really pissed me off. I want to hear from Duncan Keith and Ryan Miller and Hendrik Sedin and all the winners of the awards. I did NOT like the fact that their speeches were cut short due to time and they couldn't enjoy the moment of winning the award. This was NEVER an issue in the past till it turned into a half award show/half concert like it did last night.

Overall it was a C effort on trying to do something different with the awards this year, but I know I'm one of the many that actually missed the old low-key format from Toronto that was about the game. Just the game, nothing else. I know the NHL wants to grow the sport in the US, but this was an embarrassment to the sport, an embarrassment to the loyal fans and a mis-opportunity to explain and show off the history of the game.