NHL All-Star Teams

There is one silver lining to the NHL's not participating in the Olympics.  Because they aren't going to Korea, there will be an All*Star Game.  This is the first time since 2002 that the NHL will hold an All*Star Game in an Olympic year (although that year we saw the same players in both the All*Star Game and the Olympics).  It's also the first time in more than a decade that there's an NHL All*Star Game four years in a row.  I'd still trade the All*Star Game for Olympic participation, but I'll take what I can get.

The Olympics have also played havoc on the scheduling of the February special events.  The Grammys and Oscars are both usually held on Sunday nights in February, but with the Olympics taking up three of the four Sunday nights and the Super Bowl taking up the other, they both had to be moved.  The Oscars will be the first Sunday in March, while the Grammys will be the final Sunday in January.

Why am I bringing this up?  Because with the Grammys moving to that night, the traditional NHL All*Star Game/Pro Bowl doubleheader isn't happening.  Instead they're being played simultaneously (and only about two hours away from each other with the Pro Bowl in Orlando and the All*Star Game in Tampa).  I'm curious to see what that'll do to the ratings for each, especially since they're both on network television for the first time in forever.

Anyway, on to the teams.  With only 11 players for each division and every team needing to be represented, there are going to be a whole bunch of snubs.  Especially in the Met, where choosing just six forwards is practically impossible.

I also expect to see a lot of Tampa Bay Lightning on the Atlantic team.  They're hosting and they're significantly better than each of the other seven teams in the division.  Plus, their coach is coaching.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Lightning claim all four spots available to them.

Likewise, I'm curious to see how many spots the Golden Knights end up claiming in the Pacific.  They've been the story of the NHL over the first half of the season.  They'll almost certainly have multiple All*Stars.  Which they should.  And, the NHL hasn't announced any future All*Star hosts yet.  I'd imagine they'll want one in Las Vegas sooner rather than later.  And what an event that'll be!

But back to this year's game.  The captains are Steven Stamkos (Atlantic), Alex Ovechkin (Met), P.K. Subban (Central) and Connor McDavid (Pacific).  I've got no problem with any of those.  As for who should join them in Tampa...

ATLANTIC
Goalies: Tuukka Rask (Bruins), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)
Defensemen: Jordie Benn (Canadiens), Erik Karlsson (Senators), Victor Hedman (Lightning)
Forwards: Steven Stamkos* (Lightning), Evander Kane (Sabres), Dylan Larkin (Red Wings), Vincent Trochek (Panthers), Nikita Kucherov (Lightning), Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs)

METROPOLITAN
Goalies: Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers), Braden Holtby (Capitals)
Defensemen: Seth Jones (Blue Jackets), Shayne Gostisbehre (Flyers), John Carlson (Capitals)
Forwards: Alex Ovechkin* (Capitals), Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes), Taylor Hall (Devils), John Tavares (Islanders), Jakub Voracek (Flyers), Phil Kessel (Penguins)

CENTRAL
Goalies: Pekka Rinne (Predators), Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)
Defensemen: P.K. Subban* (Predators), John Klingberg (Stars), Alex Pietrangelo (Blues)
Forwards: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), Jamie Benn (Stars), Eric Staal (Wild), Brayden Schenn (Blues), Blake Wheeler (Jets)

PACIFIC
Goalies: John Gibson (Ducks), Jonathan Quick (Kings)
Defensemen: Alex Goligoski (Coyotes), Drew Doughty (Kings), Brent Burns (Sharks)
Forwards: Connor McDavid* (Oilers), Johnny Gaudreau (Flames), Anze Kopitar (Kings), Brock Boeser (Canucks), William Karlsson (Golden Knights), Jonathan Marchessault (Golden Knights)

It's tough to handicap which division has the edge, especially since the winner of the Skills Competition gets to decide who it plays and when.  But, since the Met won last year and overall is the strongest division (and since I'm obviously partial to the Met), I'll give them the nod.  Although, Wayne Gretzky won't be coaching them this year.