Scott (center) hoisted by teammates after winning the 2016 NHL All Star Game in Nashville, TN.
6 -foot-8. 260 pounds. 286 games played. Five goals. 11 points. 544 penalty minutes. Not exactly the most productive career in NHL history, but to look at only at the numbers would be to ignore one of the greater stories the game has ever known.
I mean Mitch Albom thought it was pretty good.
John Scott's Instagram post announcing "A Guy Like Me," a film about his All Star saga
In February, bestselling author and legendary sports journalist for the Detroit Free Press, Mitch Albom, announced that he would be working on the John Scott story, with the goal being a feature length film. One of the most popular storytellers in the world of sports and beyond, Albom found magic in the story surrounding Scott and his involvement in the 2016 NHL All Star Game.
In an interview with Joe McDonald of ESPN in February, Albom illustrated a desire to unearth the less glamorous side of the game.
"I'm interested in telling this incident as a story, but also just the whole life of a guy on the fringes of hockey. When John said to me, 'I live year to year in hockey. I'm not like those guys that have long-term contracts.' He only once in his life had a two-year contract, and I think people can relate to that, and that's the kind of film I would like to see. You don't have to be a hockey fan to understand it."
The story itself, however, is a little hard to understand.
It started with a podcast: Marek Vs. Wyshynski. The two hosts were the first to think of voting John Scott into the All Star Game. The voting process for All Stars changes every year, and this particular year saw fans vote for each division's captain. The rest of the roster spots would be determined by the NHL.
Fast forward about two months, and John Scott reluctantly agrees to captain the Pacific Division after being voted in by an overwhelming majority.
And then he gets traded. From Arizona to Montreal. The Canadiens wasted no time, as they then sent Scott to their minor league affiliate.
In Newfoundland.
Scott refused to remove himself from the All Star game, despite his questioned ineligibility and several "secret" meetings with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Even though he was living as far away from the Pacific as possible, Scott went on to win the NHL All Star MVP as he led the Pacific division to victory.
A blog post doesn't do the John Scott story justice, but Mitch Albom will have enough to work with to retell an unbelieveable underdog story for the ages. In his conversation with McDonald of ESPN, Albom is banking on the unbelievability factor of Scott's tale.
"And for people that don't know that it's a true story, and they watch it if it becomes a movie, they're going to be pinching themselves, going, 'Oh, c'mon. They had to make that up.' We don't have to make anything up."