Maple Leafs News: Auston Matthews is one of 32 All-Stars named

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hosting the events of the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. They are one of the biggest hockey markets in the world and are sure to put on a show. 

Of course, they are going to be well represented when it comes to their fans attending the activities. How represented are they going to be when it comes to players? That remains to be seen. 

Like it or not, the league has a policy that one player from each team has to be named. The initial 32 players (one from each team) were named on Thursday night. 

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, that player was Auston Matthews. He is well deserving of the All-Star nod as he leads the NHL with 30 goals. He should be north of 60 when the season is over. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have Auston Matthews at the All-Star Game

However, it wasn’t a lock that he’d be the guy because he isn’t even the Leafs’ leading scorer. That distinction belongs to William Nylander who has been incredible this year as well. 

Matthews may have 30 goals but he is second on the team with 45 points. Nylander is their leading scorer with 51 points. Only Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, and David Pastrnak have more in the whole league. 

There will be 12 additional players voted into the event by the fans. You can bet that Nylander will be one of them, especially with it being in Toronto. Don’t be surprised if more than one Leaf is voted in. 

Who else joined Matthews in being named on Thursday night? This is the full list:

Eastern Conference

Auston Matthews - Toronto Maple Leafs

Sebastian Aho - Carolina Hurricanes

Mat Barzal - New York Islanders

Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins

Rasmus Dahlin - Buffalo Sabres

Alex DeBrincat - Detroit Red Wings

Jack Hughes - New Jersey Devils

Boone Jenner - Columbus Blue Jackets

Travis Konecny - Philadelphia Flyers

Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning

David Pastrnak - Boston Bruins

Sam Reinhart - Florida Panthers

Igor Shesterkin - New York Rangers

Nick Suzuki - Montreal Canadiens

Brady Tkachuk - Florida Panthers

Tom Wilson - Washington Capitals

Western Conference

Connor Bedard - Chicago Blackhawks

Oliver Bjorkstrand - Seattle Kraken

Jack Eichel - Vegas Golden Knights

Filip Forsberg - Nashville Predators

Connor Hellebuyck - Winnipeg Jets

Tomas Hertl - San Jose Sharks

Quinn Hughes - Vancouver Canucks

Kirill Kaprizov - Minnesota Wild

Clayton Keller - Arizona Coyotes

Elias Lindholm - Calgary Flames

Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche

Jake Oettinger - Dallas Stars

Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers

Cam Talbot - Los Angeles Kings

Robert Thomas - St. Louis Blues

Frank Vatrano - Anaheim Ducks

Do you not see your favorite player there? Be sure to vote for them to get in. There is a lot of star power already there and more will join them.

For Matthews and the Maple Leafs, this has been a decent season so far and there is another level that they can get to in terms of winning. It should be a treat to see them host the All-Star Weekend.

All of these stars are here for a reason and should be proud. Some people will be upset about the process but these are all deserving players based on the rules. It should be fun to see how the rest of the roster unfolds.