Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
If you have favorites that you’re trying to vote into the NHL’s 2023 All-Star Game in Florida on Feb. 4, go for it. That’s what fan votes are for!
But if you’re looking for a handy guide on which players may be most deserving of your support, we’re here to help.
Voting for the final 12 players that will join the fun in Sunrise is open online until Tuesday, Jan. 17. You can vote up to 10 times a day for two skaters and one goaltender from each division.
Voting is also open on Twitter through Saturday, Jan. 14.
By the numbers, let’s see which players could merit your consideration.
Metropolitan Division
Already In:
- F Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
- F Johnny Gaudreau (Columbus)
- F Kevin Hayes (Philadelphia)
- F Jack Hughes (New Jersey)
- F Brock Nelson (NY Islanders)
- F Alex Ovechkin (Washington)
- F Andrei Svechnikov (Carolina)
- G Igor Shesterkin (NY Rangers)
Who Else Is Deserving?
This may surprise you: one of the Metropolitan Division players with the most points who isn’t already on the All-Star roster is Philadelphia’s. Travis Konecny.
After his hat-trick performance in the Flyers’ 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, Konecny has matched his career high of 24 goals and is up to 46 points. Also, the Flyers are quietly on a roll. Since the holiday break, they’ve won six of seven games and are now a not-insurmountable seven points out of a wild-card spot. Konecny is riding a 10-game point streak, where he’s put up 20 points.
Also at 46 points: Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers. His teammate Mika Zibanejad is right behind at 45. But with no defensemen among the NHL’s selections for the Metro, perhaps the best choice is Adam Fox. The 2021 Norris Trophy winner sits at 44 points.
On the goalie front, we could prioritize one of two different stats. Vitek Vanecek‘s 16 wins with New Jersey are second to Shesterkin in the Metro, but Ilya Sorokin‘s 22.1 goals saved above expected, per Money Puck, are second only to Vezina front-runner Linus Ullmark in the entire league.
Atlantic Division
Already In:
- F Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay)
- F Dylan Larkin (Detroit)
- F Mitch Marner (Toronto)
- F Nick Suzuki (Montreal)
- F Tage Thompson (Buffalo)
- F Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa)
- F Matthew Tkachuk (Florida)
- G Linus Ullmark (Boston)
Who Else Is Deserving?
The most obvious omission here: David Pastrnak. He’s currently tied for fourth in NHL scoring (58 points) and also has the exuberant personality that’s perfect for All-Star festivities.
The next highest-scoring players from the Atlantic are a quartet with 47 points. This group could also use at least one defenseman to anchor its back end, so Rasmus Dahlin is arguably the most deserving of that second spot. Along with Tage Thompson, Dahlin is also in the midst of a major breakout of his own. The 22-year-old sits second in scoring among defensemen with 47 points and is logging the second-most ice time in the league, at 26:21 per game.
If you’re happy to fill out the entire Atlantic roster with forwards, you’ve got two Toronto Maple Leafs and a Tampa Bay Lightning player to choose from. Austin Matthews, William Nylander and Steven Stamkos also each have 47 points. But Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle (39 points) and Montreal’s Cole Caufield (34 points) are trending on Twitter, and they’d also be exciting additions to the squad.
The second goalie in the Atlantic should be a no-brainer. Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s 18 wins are just four fewer than Ullmark, and his 12.8 goals saved above expected rank seventh in the league.
Central Division
Already In:
- F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota)
- F Clayton Keller (Arizona)
- F Jason Robertson (Dallas)
- F Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis)
- D Seth Jones (Chicago)
- D Cale Makar (Colorado)
- D Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg)
- G Juuse Saros (Nashville)
Who Else Is Deserving?
The Central is the only division that’s well-covered with defensemen, so these high-scoring forwards are solid additions to the roster.
Kyle Connor is currently on an eight-game point streak where he has put up 14 points, including three game-winning goals. Connor has now tied Leon Draisaitl for the league lead in game-winners, with eight. He’s also tied with Matthew Tkachuk for eighth in league scoring with 52 points, on pace to crack 100 points for the first time in his career.
Mikko Rantanen sits just behind Connor with 51 points. With all the injuries on the Colorado Avalanche this season, Rantanen has stepped up to help fill the void. He leads all forwards in average ice time at 23:08, over two minutes a game more than he played last season (20:59).
In net, the Central offers two other very worthy candidates who could join Juuse Saros. Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg is second in the league in wins (21) and fourth in goals saved above expected (17.4), while Jake Oettinger of Dallas is right behind at 19 wins and 15.8 GSAE. Do you prefer the 2020 Vezina Trophy winner or the rising star?
Pacific Division
Already In:
- F Matty Beniers (Seattle)
- F Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles)
- F Nazem Kadri (Calgary)
- F Connor McDavid (Edmonton)
- F Elias Pettersson (Vancouver)
- F Troy Terry (Anaheim)
- D Erik Karlsson (San Jose)
- G Logan Thompson (Vegas)
Who Else Is Deserving?
The first skater is a slam dunk. Leon Draisaitl is second in league scoring with 63 points in 41 games.
The Pacific Division player with the next-highest point total is another Oiler. With a goal and an assist in Edmonton’s 6-2 win over Anaheim on Wednesday, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit the 50-point mark in his 43rd game — and matched his point total from all of last season (63 games). Nugent-Hopkins is on track to crush his previous career high of 69 points.
With the Oilers barely clinging to a playoff spot, it’s tough to justify three all-star spots for Edmonton players. But do the floundering Vancouver Canucks deserve two? The next highest-scoring player in the Pacific is Bo Horvat, with 29 goals and 46 points. With Horvat’s name currently at the top of many trade-bait boards, though, his presence in South Florida would certainly cause a stir.
If you’re inclined to back a second defenseman to spell off Erik Karlsson, the numbers also point to a Canuck. With five points in his last two games, Quinn Hughes is now nudging up against a point-per-game pace again, with 36 points in 37 games. Just behind him, Edmonton’s Tyson Barry and Seattle’s Vince Dunn are tied with 30 points each.
Seattle is also the home of a second goalie candidate — although his save percentage suggests otherwise. At 33 years old, Martin Jones is at .898 SP for the year. But his third shutout of the year in Boston on Thursday handed the Bruins their first regulation home loss of the season. And Jones notched his 20th win of the season in the process. His GSAE is a just-okay 4.3, which is still better than you might expect based on his save percentage. Jones’ success seems to be based on making big saves at the right moments.
Sorting by save percentage, another backup-turned-starter sits tied with Logan Thompson at .914. That’s Edmonton’s Stuart Skinnerwhose 12-10-2 record has kept the Oilers in the playoff hunt to date.
.