Thursday, January 25, 2018

NHL All Star Game 2018: The Snubs

With rosters set for the NHL All Star weekend, I take a few moments to go over which players were snubbed for All Star spots this year, and there are a few.

The Metropolitan Division had the most talent snubbed for All Star births. Of course, there are only so many spots, but the following players deserved a longer look for a spot here:

Phil Kessel, Penguins: Kessel is 7th in the leagu in total points this season with 55, and has 34 assists.
Jakub Voracek, Flyers: Voracek is one of the league's top assist men, with 46, and has 55 points.
Anders Lee, Islanders: Lee is tied for third in the league with 27, and has a total of 42 points.
Sean Couturier, Flyers: He has 26 goals, and 23 assists. Add that he is +18 for the season.
Evgeni Malkin, Penguins: Malkin has 49 points for the season, with 21 goals and 28 assists.
Matthew Barzal, Islanders: Barzal is 11th in the league in assists with 34, and has 50 points.
Zack Werenski, Blue Jackets: Werenski is tied with all NHL defensemen with 11 goals in 2017/18.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets: 7th in saves with 1106, he also owns 21 wins in net.

With five perceived snubs, the Central Division would come in second in that category:

Patrik Laine, Jets: 21 goals, 17 assists, 20 PIM, and 11 Power Play Goals gets you nothing.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues: 46 points on 21 goals and 25 assists, but not enough for a bid.
Alexander Radulov, Stars: Radulov has 47 points on the season and 46 PIM.
Ben Bishop, Stars: Bishop was an edge snub, as he has 990 saves, but 21 wins on the season.
Jamie Benn, Stars: We cannot overload the roster with Stars, but Benn sits at +13 with 47 points on the season.

The Atlantic Division comes in with three perceived snubs in 2018. They are as follows:

Patrice Bergeron, Bruins: At 40 points and a +23 mark, Bergeron must have been a tough leave off.
David Pastrnak, Bruins: He has 20 goals and 25 assists, and sits at 0.96 points per game.
Frederik Anderson, Toronto: He has 1307 saves and is tied for third most wins among goalies.

The Pacific Division was probably the division that had the most "correct" picks for the All Star event, as only two players could be called perceived snubs from our measurements:

William Karlsson, Golden Knights: Karlsson came out of nowhere to now be tied for second in goals scored in the NHL, and is a key component in the expansion team blowing all expectations out of the water. He also leads the league at +26.
Sean Monahan, Flames: He is tied for ninth in the league after scoring last night. He now has 22 goals on the season, and adds another 21 assists.

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