With the announcement of the winners of the fan vote on Thursday, the rosters for the Feb. 3-4 All-Star weekend are complete, making up for some omissions from the league’s original choices.
An online fan vote determined the remaining two skaters and one goalie per division. For the first time, it included a Twitter component. To be counted, each fan tweet had to include the entire hashtag “#NHLAllStarVote” followed by a player’s full name or Twitter handle.
The league had previously announced a representative from each of the 32 teams, including some big names and many first-timers.
The following are some facts about the All-Star Game:
When and where is the NHL All-Star Game going to be held?
The NHL All-Star Game will take place on Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. ET at FLA LIVE Arena in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers. The skills competition will take place on February 3 at 7 p.m. ET. The skills competition will be broadcast on ESPN, while the main game will be broadcast on ABC.
Who were the Atlantic Division players named to the NHL All-Star Game?
F Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), F Dylan Larkin (Detroit), F Mitch Marner (Toronto), F Nick Suzuki (Montreal), F Tage Thompson (Buffalo), F Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), F Matthew Tkachuk (Florida), G Linus Ullmark (Boston) (1st).
Any omissions? Only in the sense that the hot Bruins could send nearly their entire team. I would have preferred Brayden Point to represent Tampa Bay at forward, but Kucherov leads the team in scoring. It’s great for the Tkachuks that Matthew and Brady are both in the game and on the same team this time. Where have the defenders gone?
Who were the Central Division players named to the NHL All-Star Game?
League selections: F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota), F Clayton Keller (Arizona), F Jason Robertson (Dallas), F Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis), D Seth Jones (Chicago), D Cale Makar (Colorado), D Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg), G Juuse Saros (Nashville) (2nd).
G Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg (3rd), F Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (6th) and Mikko Rantanen (2nd)
Any omissions? Hellebuyck and Rantanen were on my initial list of snubs, but they are no longer on it. Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas are the Blues’ future, while Tarasenko is an injured pending unrestricted free agent.
Who were the Pacific Division players named to the NHL All-Star Game?
League picks: F Matty Beniers (Seattle), F Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles), F Nazem Kadri (Calgary), F Connor McDavid (Edmonton), F Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), F Troy Terry (Anaheim), D Erik Karlsson (San Jose), G Logan Thompson (VGK) (1st)
F Leon Draisaitl of Edmonton came in fourth, F Bo Horvat of Vancouver came in second, and G Stuart Skinner of Edmonton came in third (1st)
Any omissions? In the skills competition, Trevor Zegras was entertaining to watch, but Terry is the Ducks’ leading scorer. Tyler Toffoli for the Flames, but Kadri is also a viable option after winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022.
