One NHL All-Star Game Snub From Every NHL Team

The NHL All-Star game is scheduled for February 5th in Vegas, and this is definitely going to be a fun game to watch for fans around the league. However, there are some particular snubs on the roster that deserved to be mentioned.

Every team has at least one representative in the all-star game, but since the switch to three on three for the games, fewer and fewer players are picked to be in the event. Every team is missing a player or two that should be in the event, let’s talk about some of those guys today.

I should mention before diving in – the NHL is having a “last man in” vote for one additional player for each division. You can cast your ballot for those players here. Considering there is only four players going in and a lot of potential last man in votes, players on that list are part of the roster snubs in this list.

Let’s dive in with the Metropolitan Division to start.

Carolina Hurricanes

All-Star: Sebastian Aho and Frederik Anderson

Snub: Andrei Svechnikov

Aho is an excellent representative for the Carolina Hurricanes, but considering the Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the league, it seems right that they would have a few players in the game. Svechnikov has 26 points in 30 games so far this season, and he is only 21 years old. The NHL is a young players league and he should be a part of the mix in the all-star game.

Columbus Blue Jackets

All-Star: Zach Werenski

Snub: Elvis Merzlikins

Zach Werenski is a great defenseman who is a leader on the Columbus Blue Jackets. But if we are talking about a start in the league Elvis Merzlikins is one of the top goalies around in the league right now. Merzlikins is a great personality and has been one of the most fun goalies to watch around. Seeing him miss out on the event is tough to see, especially how good he has been the best few years as well.

New Jersey Devils

All-Star: Jack Hughes

Snub: Jesper Bratt

Alright, before diving in with this let me say. I want Jack Hughes in the all-star game. He is a great player and is one of the future stars of this game. That being said, why in the world is Jesper Bratt who has a ten-point plus lead on the most points on the Devils not in this event. Bratt has 32 points in 34 games this year.

New York Islanders

All-Star: Adam Pelech

Snub: Mathew Barzal

I think our friends over at Eyes On Isles said it best:

Only one New York Islanders player made the cut, and that was…Mathew…I mean…Adam Pelech.

Pelech is a fine pick to be in the all-star game, but it really is weird to not have Barzal who is leading the struggling Islanders in points in the event. Mathew Barzal is young – only 24, and has a long time ahead of being a face of the franchise in New York. Why he isn’t in this game and Pelech is just seems like the NHL wanted another defenseman on the roster.

New York Rangers

All-Star: Adam Fox and Chris Kreider

Snub: Artemi Panarin

The Rangers have two players going to the all-star game in Adam Fox, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, and Chris Kreider. Their last man in could potentially and Mika Zibanejad to the event as well. But if you want to talk about all-stars in this game there are none more brighter than Artemi Panarin. Panarin not being in the event is a strange sight to see and we are now missing out on some cool three-on-three hockey which is definitely where Panarin could thrive.

Philadelphia Flyers

All-Star: Claude Giroux

Snub: Joel Farabee

Claude Giroux has been to his fair share of all-star games. At the age of 34, this will be his seventh time in the event. He has 29 points in 33 games this year with the Flyers and is a good pick, but 21-year-old Joel Farabee is having an electric year starting off with 11 goals in 29 games. He has a shooting percentage above 20 percent and has been a fun player to watch all season long.

Pittsburgh Penguins

All-Star: Tristan Jarry

Snub: SIDNEY CROSBY

This one had to go in all-caps. Sidney Crosby was snubbed from the All-Star game list. If you look around on Twitter right now you can see a lot of people shocked by this decision, and I am pretty shocked. Crosby has been in these games year after year and in 24 games this season he has 24 points. A point per game face of the franchise can’t get in. The Penguins’ last man in vote is going to Jake Guentzel who probably should have just been in it from the start if not for the team needing a goalie in the net.

Washington Capitals

All-Star: Alex Ovechkin

Snub: John Carlson

The Capitals are well represented with Ovechkin in the game. The last man in vote gives Evgeny Kuznetsov a chance at getting in the game, personally, I think John Carlson a defenseman with 32 points deserves a chance, but Kuznetsov is also a good pick.

I am not going to complain about Alex Ovechkin being in the all-star game. He is on fire this season with 52 points in 37 games. At the age of 36, he is showing no signs of slowing down and is still one of the best players to watch in the league.

Ovechkin is the captain of the Metro Division team. This is a great sight to see, and begs the question if the voters didn’t make him captain would the NHL have left him off the list like Crosby? Most definitely not but honestly with the way these decisions are going so far what the heck?

The Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division is captained by Auston Matthews, a great pick to captain the team who is now playing in his fourth all-star game. This team is filled with talent and has two teams, the Maple Leafs and Lightning with two players going to the game.

Boston Bruins

All-Star: Patrice Bergeron

Snub: Brad Marchand

Brad Marchand leads the Boston Bruins in points with 41 in 29 games this season. He has 19 goals and 22 assists and at the age of 33, he is playing some of the best hockey of his entire career. Even David Pastrnak who is one of the brightest stars in the entire league with 30 points in 34 games can’t find himself in the event.

The last man in vote could see Charlie McAvoy in the game, not a bad pick but Marchand and Pastrnak are the ones really having electric seasons this year.

Buffalo Sabres

All-Star: Rasmus Dahlin

Snub: Brad Marchand

Rasmus Dahlin is a good representative of the Buffalo Sabres, but with the season they are having and the state of the team do they really need to have anyone at the game?

Sorry Sabres fans but the All-Star game just having one player from every team to be fair doesn’t seem right if the all-star talent is getting snubbed from the event in order to have the same amount of guys per team.

Detroit Red Wings

All-Star: Dylan Larkin

Snub: Moritz Seider

Dylan Larkin is having a great season, but young defenseman Dylan Larkin has been the start of this team all year. Seider has been a top defenseman all year now putting up 24 points in 38 games and averaging 22:25 minutes a night despite this being his first year in the league. This game really is supposed to be able marketing the stars of the game and Seider should definitely be one of them in the event.

Florida Panthers

All-Star: Jonathan Huberdeau

Snub: Sam Reinhart

Reinhart is having a great season and it would have been cool to see him in the all-star game after spending so much time in Buffalo struggling. The Panthers have a lot of guys that deserve to be in this game like Ekblad and Barkov it will be interesting to see if they can win the last man in vote and get some respect for their team.

Montreal Canadiens

All-Star: Nick Suzuki

Snub: The Roster Spot

Similar to Buffalo, the Canadiens have not been great this year. Their best player has been Nick Suzuki who has 19 points in 36 games, but that is not that impressive. When the format was bigger and more players got to go to the game I understand having at least one player from each team, but with the three on three set up having a player from one of the bottom teams in the league who isn’t having a crazy year just doesn’t seem right. The Panthers, Lightning, Bruins, or Maple Leafs could have had two or three more guys go if it wasn’t for every team getting a spot at the game.

Ottawa Senators

All-Star: Drake Batherson

Snub: Brady Tkachuk

The Tkachuk brothers are two of the brightest stars this new era of hockey players has. Having Brady not in the game just seems wrong. Batherson is definitely having a good season with 29 points in 25 games, but Tkachuk is the future face of the franchise in Ottawa.

Tampa Bay Lightning

All-Star: Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy

Snub: Insert Name Here

The Lightning have about three or four players that should be in the all-star game. Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palet, and Alex Killorn are all having great years. Kucherov would have been a part of the list but he missed a lot of time with injuries this season.

Stamkos not being named to the team is just wrong. He has been leading the Lightning all season and has 45 points in 38 games this year. The captain of back-to-back Stanley Cups being listed on the last man in vote instead of the game itself is a weird sight to see.

Toronto Maple Leafs

All-Star: Auston Matthews and Jack Campbell

Snub: William Nylander

Nylander is second on the team in goals and points. The Maple Leafs are victim to the same treatment as the Lightning for just having too many good all-stars that should be in the game. Their last man in vote is John Tavares who I having a really strong season at a point per game. I guess the only player probably that deserves more credit here is Morgan Rielly who is one of the best defensemen in the league point-wise with 29 points so far this year.

The Central Division

The Central Division team is captained by Nathan MacKinnon who is appearing in his fourth all-star game. MacKinnon is a good pick to captain the team and it is fitting that the Avalanche have more than one players going to the game.

Arizona Coyotes

All-Star: Clayton Keller

Snub: The Roster Spot

The Coyotes do not have a lot of stars on their team, they do have a lot of draft picks though as the team is openly rebuilding and trying to tank for picks. Personally, I do not think they should have a player in the game especially when you look at a team like Nashville that is only getting a goalie in the game in part because the roster spots are taken by someone from Arizona.

Chicago Blackhawks

All-Star: Alex DeBrincat

Snub: Patrick Kane

This seems like the end of an era in the NHL. This will be one of the first all-star games without Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane who have been staples in the league for a long time. While the Blackhawks have struggled Kane should continue to be in the event as he is around a point per game player and is the one setting up DeBrincat for a lot of his goals anyway.

Colorado Avalanche

All-Star: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar

Snub: Nazem Kadri

Kadri is a part of the last man in vote and definitely could find himself in the event, but really the guy has 48 points in 30 games this year. Mikko Rantanen also has 40 in 30 and can’t find themselves in the all-star game. If a player is truly having an all-star career year they probably should find themselves in a game like this.

Dallas Stars

All-Star: Joe Pavelski

Snub: Jason Robertson

Jason Robertson is the young future star of the Dallas Stars. At 22 years old he is second on the team in points with 32 in 27 not bad for a young player truly taking off in the league. Pavelski is having a great year and definitely is a good representation for the Stars, but the future of the team belongs to guys like Robertson and not Pavelski who are 37 and could find themselves traded.

Minnesota Wild

All-Star: Kirill Kaprizov and Cam Talbot

Snub: Ryan Hartman

Okay, these last few names have all been players on the last man vote and this next one is no different. Ryan Hartman went from a third-line guy to a bonafide top-six star player on one of the top teams within the Western Conference in the Minnesota Wild. Hartman getting to an all-star game would have been a sight to see and would have shownd all his hard work over the past few years.

The Pacific Division

The Pacific Division is captained by Connor McDavid – a fair pick especially considering how many points he puts up during the regular season. There are two teams with two players going to the game – the Oilers and Golden Knights.

Anaheim Ducks

All-Star: John Gibson

Snub: Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras.

Zegras scored the goal of the year and has been an impressive player to watch all year long, Terry has had a breakout year putting up 22 goals and 36 points in 38 games with the Ducks, yet he can only hope to get into the game with the last man in vote. The NHL made a mistake not including two of the game’s top young stars in the event in Terry and Zegras.

Calgary Flames

All-Star: Johnny Gaudreau

Snub: Jacob Markstrom

Jacob Markstrom has been a big difference-maker for the Calgary Flames. He has five shutouts and has a .924 save percentage. The Flames goalie is having a terrific season and is a big reason for the Flames’ comeback this season. Also, it goes without saying the Flames brightest star has to be Matthew Tkachuk who is going to be a face in this game for a long time. He is the team’s last man in vote and there is a good chance he could make it in.

Edmonton Oilers

All-Stars: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl

Snubs: The General Manager or Coach?

The Oilers’ top two stars are having great seasons once again. Early on in December, they were playing at a two-point per game pace. The Oilers have definitely fallen off as of late and I think it will be interesting to see McDavid and Draisaitl on display at the all-star game. Hopefully, by then they will have started to win games and things won’t be awkward. Maybe Ken Holland or Dave Tippett can take their place in the event if they don’t make any changes to the Oilers soon to fix their year.

Los Angeles Kings

All-Star: Adrian Kempe

Snub: Jonathan Quick

Jonathan Quick is having a bounce-back year in 2021-22 as his team tries to push for the playoffs he has put up two shutouts and has a .921 save percentage during that time. Quick is 36 and hasn’t been this good in a while. It would have been fun to see him in an event where he usually shines.

San Jose Sharks

All-Star: Timo Meier

Snub: Brent Burns?

I don’t really have any complaints about Timo Meier being in the game. He is more than a point-per-game player and has been a big part of the Sharks’ relatively strong season thus far. My only complaint is that if you want personality and stardom then Brent Burns would have been the pick to go to the game in my book. Burns is always fun during the different competitions and would have brought some creativity to the game.

Seattle Kraken

All-Star Jordan Eberle

Snub: The Roster Spot

The Kraken are not very good this season and I guess Jordan Eberle would be a fair pick for the team considering he leads the team in points. However, if you want to have this be a real all-star game where the best players of the season are facing off then his spot probably should have gone to someone else in the league.

That being said if there is another player on this team that could have deserved it, that would be Jared McCann who leads the team with 15 goals.

Vancouver Canucks

All-Star: Thatcher Demko

Snub: Quinn Hughes

Thatcher Demko is the representative for the Vancouver Canucks this year at the all-star game. Just because it is called the all-star game I think I would have preferred defenseman Quinn Hughes who would have been fun to watch face off against his brother and other defensemen like Cale Makar.

Vegas Golden Knights

All-Star: Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo

Snub: Chandler Stephenson

Chandler Stephenson has been the one leading the Golden Knights while Stone missed time this year with injuries and so did Max Pacioretty. The Golden Knights are in a good position because of the work of a guy like Chandler Stephenson.

Yet he doesn’t even find himself on the list to get voted in as that goes to Jonathan Marchessault. The Golden Knights are victims of there not being enough spots as all of those guys could be in the game.