Here is when we think Alex Ovechkin will break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record
Mackenzie Salmon looks at the earliest possible time Alex Ovechkin could break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record.
USA TODAY
The rosters for the Feb. 3-4 All-Star weekend are complete with Thursday’s announcement of the winners of the fan vote, making up for some omissions from the league’s original choices.
The remaining two skaters and one goalie per division were selected by an online fan vote. That included a Twitter component for the first time. Each fan tweet had to include the complete hashtag “#NHLAllStarVote” followed by a player’s full name or a player’s Twitter handle in order to count.
The league earlier had announced a representative from all 32 teams, with some big names and many first-timers.
What to know about the All-Star Game:
CONNOR BEDARD WATCH: Which NHL team has best shot at drafting generational talent?
SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up now to get top sports headlines delivered daily
When and where will the NHL All-Star Game be played?
The NHL All-Star Game is at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 4 at FLA LIVE Arena in Sunrise, home of the Florida Panthers. The skills competition will be Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN will broadcast the skills competition and ABC the main game.
Who are the coaches for the NHL All-Star Game?
The following four coaches were named on Jan. 11, based on winning percentage: Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour, Metropolitan; Boston’s Jim Montgomery, Atlantic; Dallas’ Pete BeBoer, Central; Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy, Pacific.
Who was named to the NHL All-Star Game from the Metropolitan Division?
League choices: (All-Star appearance in parentheses): F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (5th), F Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus (7th), F Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia (1st), F Jack Hughes, New Jersey (2nd), F Brock Nelson, New York Islanders (1st), F Alex Ovechkin, Washington (8th), F Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina (1st), G Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers (1st)
Fan vote: D Adam Fox, Rangers (2nd), F Artemi Panarin, Rangers (2nd), G Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders (1st)
Any snubs? Fox and Sorokin were on my initial list of snubs, so the fans did them right. Ovechkin, now the NHL’s No. 2 scorer, and Crosby are natural draws, and Svechnikov will be fun to watch in the skills competition.
Who was named to the NHL All-Star Game from the Atlantic Division?
League choices: F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay (4th), F Dylan Larkin, Detroit (3rd), F Mitch Marner, Toronto (2nd), F Nick Suzuki, Montreal (2nd), F Tage Thompson, Buffalo (1st), F Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa (3rd), F Matthew Tkachuk, Florida (2nd), G Linus Ullmark, Boston (1st).
Fan vote: F Auston Matthews, Toronto (5th), F David Pastrnak, Boston (3rd), G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay (5th)
Any snubs? Only in the sense that the red-hot Bruins could send nearly their entire team to the game. I would have preferred Brayden Point as Tampa Bay’s forward representative, but Kucherov leads the team in scoring. It’s nice for the Tkachuk family to have both Matthew and Brady in the game and on the same team this time. Where are the defensemen?
Who was named to the NHL All-Star Game from the Central Division?
League choices: F Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota (2nd), F Clayton Keller, Arizona (3rd), F Jason Robertson, Dallas (1st), F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis (4th), D Seth Jones, Chicago (4th), D Cale Makar, Colorado (2nd), D Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (1st), G Juuse Saros, Nashville (2nd).
Fan vote: G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg (3rd), F Nathan MacKinnon (6th) and Mikko Rantanen (2nd), Colorado
Any snubs? Hellebuyck and Rantanen were on my initial list of snubs and are now going. Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas are the future of the Blues, while Tarasenko is a pending unrestricted free agent who is hurt.
Who was named to the NHL All-Star Game from the Pacific Division?
League choices: F Matty Beniers, Seattle (1st), F Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles (1st), F Nazem Kadri, Calgary (2nd), F Connor McDavid, Edmonton (6th), F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver (3rd), F Troy Terry, Anaheim (2nd), D Erik Karlsson, San Jose (7th), G Logan Thompson, VGK (1st)
Fan vote: F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton (4th), F Bo Horvat, Vancouver (2nd), G Stuart Skinner, Edmonton (1st)
Any snubs? Trevor Zegras was a joy to watch in the skills competition, but Terry is the Ducks’ leading scorer. Maybe Tyler Toffoli for the Flames, but Kadri is also a good choice after his 2022 Stanley Cup win with Colorado.
