Sabres Zemgus Girgensons Leads NHL All-Star Voting

Apr 8, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons (28) celebrates a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the third period at First Niagara Center. Detroit won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The polls for voting NHL players into the 2015 All Star Game have been open for a fortnight and, as expected, sitting atop the leaderboard is Sydney Cros-wait, that’s not right. It’s actually Buffalo Sabres Latvian center Zemgus Girgensons, whose current total almost doubles that of The Next One.

I’m an America with Lithuanian roots, but for some reason my maternal great-grandfather’s homeland has chosen to embrace the boring sport of basketball over the excitement of ice hockey. So realistically the closest I can come to supporting hockey in the Baltic States is rooting on Latvia. Apparently I’m not the only one, as the Latvians seem to be working overtime to get Girgensons into the Eastern Conference’s starting lineup this January in Columbus, Ohio.

So who is this guy?

He’s one of a couple gifts left under the Christmas tree by former Sabres’ General Manager Darcy Regier on his way out the door.

Girgensons was Buffalo’s second 1st Round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (courtesy of the Nashville #1 received in a trade for Paul Gaustad, and then a subsequent draft-day deal with Calgary); selected two slots after the Swords drafted highly-touted Mikhail Gringorenko, who currently skates for the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

As someone who regularly follows Buffalo, I can tell you that the 20 year-old Girgensons (7 G, 6 A, 13 Pts) has created a paradox for Sabres fans this season. Why? It’s rather simple.

Girgensons is unquestionably a player that every single NHL squad would take for its roster, without hesitation. He has a powerhouse engine with an unremitting motor.

That “he never takes a shift off” cliché was certainly written with players like “Girgs” in mind. He forechecks relentlessly. He backchecks relentlessly. He hits hard. And he has already attached a few stellar highlight-reel goals to his resume during his very brief career. It’s very easy to imagine the Sabres stitching a ‘C’ onto his sweater once Brian Gionta moves on.

So what’s the problem? Well, either Girgensons didn’t get the memo that the Sabres are in the middle of one of professional sports all-time most blatant tank jobs, or he did and doesn’t care.

Every unwanted standings point that Zemgus helps reel in for Buffalo via his indefatigable work ethic puts the Sabres another point further from realizing the dream that every hockey fan in western New York has clung to for two years: landing Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

Buffalo started out well in this regard, but has gone on a frustrating winning streak of late, and just as a few other bottom-feeders are perfecting their own tank. (Looking right at you Edmonton, and your 11 game losing streak. I mean, c’mon.)

The reality, of course, is that it’s Girgensons’ job to play lights out. And it’s that of Buffalo management’s to find ways to subtly weaken the roster around him so the Oilers don’t get their thousandth #1 overall pick since the Grover Cleveland administration. And even more particularly so that this ol’ Hartford Whalers fan doesn’t have to deal with seeing McDavid skating around in a Carolina Hurricanes jersey for the next 15 years.

Now, getting back to the topic at hand: Should Girgensons be the NHL’s leading vote getter over the likes of Subban and Crosby? The answer is that it doesn’t matter. This is the Fans Game, and rightfully so there’s no requirement to quantify reasoning before casting All Star ballots.

And if his lead holds up, hockey fans around the world will be treated to a multi-dimensional player who never quits; never stops battling while on the ice. In those respects he reminds me very much of a young Kevin Dineen.

Regardless of where he finishes in this vote, hockey fans will certainly be hearing his name more and more as time goes by. So fasten your seat belts, and get ready to watch as “The Legend of Zemgus” continues to grow.