After a three-year absence, the NHL All- Star Game returns tonight in Dallas. The matchup once again pits Eastern Conference against Western Conference, the league having abandoned the “North America versus the World” concept utilized in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Given that each team plays only five home games against clubs in the opposite conference, the All- Star Game will for many fans represent their only opportunity to see some of the league’s brightest stars in action.

The rosters comprise an eclectic mix of veteran All-Star regulars (like the Rangers’ Brendan Shanahan, captain of the Eastern Conference team) and youngsters making their first appearances (like the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin). And a few role players, including the Islanders’ Jason Blake and the Coyotes’ Yanic Perreault, will also make their All-Star debuts.

But one role player will not be on the ice. Canucks defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick gained considerable notoriety this season when Rochester N.Y. native Steve Schmid decided to start the “Vote for Rory” campaign, hoping to help the hard-working journeyman find his way into the All-Star Game. The write-in campaign took on a life of its own, with Fitzpatrick surging into second place in the Western Conference on December 19. But after receiving 160,000 votes that week, Fitzpatrick received only 120,000 votes in the final two weeks of balloting, and he ultimately finished third behind Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer.

Conspiracy theorists wonder whether the NHL discarded some of the Fitzpatrick votes, and the numbers indicate that just might have been the case. But if a large percentage of those votes were in fact generated via the “Rory Vote-O-Matic” Firefox plug-in designed by Vancouver programmer Brad Touesnard — which is believed to be the case — then the final reported results were actually a more accurate reflection of the fans’ will.

Over the past 18 months, the NHL has initiated tremendous change, modifying not only the schedule (reducing inter-conference play dramatically), but also changing the very rules of the game. And yesterday, the league asserted that the current schedule format (which sees opposite-conference teams visit only once every three seasons) would remain in place for at least next season, if not beyond.

With this array of changes, the league is treading on very thin ice where its long-term, diehard fans are concerned. For many of the league’s loyal supporters, the nearconstant tinkering has been taken as sheer blasphemy. With tonight’s All-Star Game, yet another dramatic change is to be ushered in.

When the news hit that the league was planning to introduce a new uniform, it generated predictable backlash from purists (although it’s worth noting that NHL players weren’t wearing polyester in the days of Gordie Howe and Maurice “Rocket” Richard … they were wearing wool). It was initially believed that the jerseys would be tucked into the pants, rendering classic horizontal striping obsolete. And some panicked fans even imagined that the players would be wearing spandex outfits previously reserved only for super heroes and gymnasts. But judging from the look of the All-Star Game jerseys modeled at a press event in Dallas on Monday, the traditionalists have precious little to worry about. It should be very easy for Reebok to retain classic “Original Six” designs (such as those of the Rangers and Montreal Canadiens) when preparing the new uniforms for their regular season debut in October 2007. Instead, these next-generation uniforms look a lot like the ones that preceded them, with the changes addressing functional technology rather than fashion concerns.

Designed in tandem with Reebok/CCM, the NHL’s new uniforms are expected to provide significant technological benefits for the players, an assertion confirmed by researchers at MIT and Central Michigan University. More aerodynamic (read: formfitting) than their predecessors, the new uniforms reduce drag by nine percent. They incorporate high-tech fabrics that are expected to reduce moisture absorption by up to 76%.

“You can’t believe it until you’ve tried it in practice,” said Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier at the press conference. “It is so much lighter than what we have today … the air seems to flow right through you and it takes in almost no moisture. It definitely makes me feel faster. It’s unbelievable.”

The changes might end up having the biggest positive impact on a segment of the player population that doesn’t appear to need any more assistance, for nearly every change the league has made has been with the intention of enhancing offense and giving the skill players more opportunities to score. But there’s a very strong possibility that it’ll be the goaltenders that benefit most from the new uniforms.

Over the course of the past decade, tremendous improvements have been made with regard to goalie equipment, most notably in the reduction of absorbed moisture. The moisture-wicking uniforms the league is set to introduce will take that one step further. Where the skaters are cooled to some degree by the breeze they generate from gliding around the rink, the goaltenders gain no such benefit. But by providing them with moisture-wicking uniforms, the goalies will no longer be forced to marinate in their own sweat.

“It’s going to increase our speed,” said Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco in Monday’s press conference. “We don’t get the opportunity to skate around and catch that breeze. Sweating is a big part of our job, and keeping hydrated [is very difficult]. So being able to lose all that water — get it off the equipment — and feel a lot cooler and keep that core temperature down is going to be a big advantage for us.”

Judging from Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur’s success in the post-lockout, “offense first” NHL, the last thing the league’s goaltenders need is another big advantage. But in tonight’s game, with limited checking and sporadic defensive coverage, it’s safe to say the first battle will be won by the goal scorers. Whereas an average of 5.84 goals have been scored in each NHL game this season, it’s quite likely the goal total in tonight’s All-Star Game will top 15.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.