2020 NHL All-Star Game: Top 5 most outrageous snubs

Evgeni Malkin

We’re staying the Metropolitan Division here, as Pittsburgh Penguins captain Evgeni Malkin was a surprising omission from the roster. Without Sidney Crosby, Malkin has carried the Pens, along with his linemate Jake Guentzel (who is going to the All-Star Game).

One argument I’ve heard against Malkin is that he hasn’t played in enough games. The Penguins have played 39 games as of Dec. 31 and he has only played in 26 of them. I won’t hold that against him, though, because that’s still over half of their games. Malkin’s tied for 21st in the NHL in points with 38. That might not sound too impressive, but keep in mind everyone tied with or above Malkin in points has played in at least 36 games.

I don’t like raw point totals, so let’s look at points per game. Malkin is third in the entire NHL, averaging 1.46 points per game. He trails only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Guentzel absolutely deserves to go because he’s made a seamless transition from having Crosby as his center to having Malkin as his center. That’s not as easy as it sounds, as they’re quite different in their playing styles. Crosby is more precise while Malkin is more of a freelancer and thrives on chaos.

As deserving as Geuntzel is, Malkin should be in the All-Star Game too. In fact, I’d argue Malkin is more deserving than Guentzel. That said, Guentzel went into the boards very hard against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 30. It looks like it could be a really bad injury. If that’s how Malkin gets into the All-Star Game, man that’s unfortunate.