OTTAWA — Et tu, Ovie?

Say it ain't so. Bad enough that Sidney Crosby can't be here because his head is still not right after his latest concussion.

Bad enough that those classy oldsters, Teemu Selanne and Nicklas Lidstrom, would politely decline before they could even be asked to represent the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings at the All-Star Weekend festivities in Ottawa.

Bad enough that Jonathan Toews had to withdraw after getting slashed by Gloucester native Erik Gudbranson, and that rookie starling Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would wreck his shoulder, and Mikko Koivu and Dustin Byfuglien would get hurt and Jamie Benn would require an appendectomy . .

Now, Alexander Ovechkin is the latest to contract Ottawa all-star flu, and his is the biggest name this side of Sidney to be a no-show for the ASG festivities in Ottawa.

Do they not know that here in the world's largest village folks tend to revert to ingrained inferiority complex and rejection issues over these matters?

Ottawa likes to know what people think of the nation's capital, wants to be a grownup region with a small-town conscience.

No one believed Ottawa was big time enough to have and to hold an NHL franchise, and when Bruce Firestone and friends shocked the hockey world on that bid more than two decades ago, the Senators were soon told their town wasn't grown up enough to play host to big events such as the ASG or entry draft.

Ottawa has since nailed both showcases, bursting with pride at the privilege, so don't the stars understand THIS is the place to be this weekend, not suntanning in So-Cal? How dare they get injured or suspended at a time like this.

Even Mother Nature is piling on, turning the Rideau Canal, the world's largest skating rink, into the world's largest puddle the past couple of days. She better smarten up by the weekend! She will. She knows better than to fool with Senators president Cyril Leeder and company.

Ovechkin, as you know, was suspended on Monday by the NHL for three games following a nasty hit on Zbynek Michalek, brother of allstar forward Milan Michalek of the Senators (imagine the outrage around here if he'd slammed Z's little bro).

On Tuesday, Ovechkin confirmed suspicions he would give the ASG a pass, saying he didn't want to be a "distraction." To which Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins must have thought: "Please, Ovie, come to Ottawa, be a distraction."

Thomas, of course, snubbed U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, noshowing the usually touchyfeely visit to the White House by the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Ovechkin doesn't want to be a distraction (translation: why help promote a league that just tapped my bank account for 150 Gs), eschewing an opportunity to try to be the attraction he once was.

And this cuts to the heart of the issue: it's not that the Ottawa ASG lacks stars. The entire NHL is missing its marquee mojo at the moment.

Just a few years ago, Sidney and Ovie were the young faces of the game, poised to carry hockey for the next decade or more, ideally situated in the U.S. centres of Pittsburgh and Washington. Armed with a new collective bargaining agreement and rules to free up the game (dangerously so, it turns out), could hockey have been in better hands? Then, Crosby was struck down in January of 2011 and hasn't been able to recover sufficiently to stay in the Penguins' lineup, evolving from Face of the Game to unwitting Poster Child for the concussion problems running rampant in hockey and football.

Meanwhile, Ovechkin has faded demonstrably, if not quite as suddenly as from a David Steckel hit to the jaw, since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Sure, good to great players are all around us. But let's not pretend that Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk, as skilled as they are, can capture the imagination of fringe fans while the league hitches its wagon to them.

As Michael Farber noted in an SI.com column la st week, "this crisis is right in front of us. No fabulous players. No fabulous teams."

Parity and homogeneity, the goal of every league commissioner for some misguided reason, exact a cost. There are no dynasties to cherish or loathe, and with Sid and Ovie out of sorts, no superstars in our midst.

This won't stop Ottawa from staging the grandest of shows this weekend. The canal ice will firm up, the populace will embrace the invading hockey world, and the replacement stars, including Scott Hartnell for Toews, Kris Letang for Byfuglien and Jordan Eberle for Koivu, are worthy substitutes.

So, let us revel in the madness, from the Thursday fantasy pool charades to the outdoor fun on the canal and new Rink of Dreams, at fan fest and the glorified shinny match that is Sunday's All-Star Game.

For the NHL, this is the easy part, celebrating the game with fans and sponsors. The hard part comes down the road, finding the next superstars and keeping them in one piece.

NIGHT SKATE ON FRIDAY

The events guide contained on Page 4 of today's souvenir All-Star Weekend section should have said the Energizer Night Skate is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. on the Rideau Canal, and not Thursday night as reported. The section was printed in advance.

ALL-STAR COVERAGE

For all things all-star related, check out our special website at ottawacitizenallstar.com.

Contact Wayne Scanlan at: wscanlan@ottawacitizen.com

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