Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, and Erik Karlsson among selections for Central and Pacific Division All-Star Teams
The NHL has announced their selections for the Central and Pacific Division teams for the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend.
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NHL Hockey Operations has selected the first eight spots on each team, with one player per team and one of those eight being a goaltender, and fans will vote in the remaining three spots for each team, including another goaltender. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for players via the traditional online vote, as well as through voting on Twitter with the #NHLAllStarVote hashtag.
The selections for the Central Division team are Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes, Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues, and Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets.
The selections for the Pacific Division team are Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks, Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings, Matty Beniers of the Seattle Kraken, Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks, Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks, and Logan Thompson of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The NHL will announce the coaches for the teams on January 11th, going the traditional route of picking the coach of the team leading their respective division. Peter DeBoer is currently the leading candidate for the Central team, as the Stars lead the division with a 23-11-6, but Rick Bowness and the Jets are also three points behind with a 24-13-1 record. Bruce Cassidy is currently the leading candidate for the Pacific team, as the Golden Knights lead the division with a 26-12-2 record, but Todd McLellan and the Kings are also four points behind with a 22-13-6 record.
Some notable omissions include Leon Draisaitl from the Oilers, Jack Eichel from the Golden Knights, Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets, and Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche.
These two teams feature five first-time All-Star selections, which include Robertson with 26 goals and 55 points in 40 games; Fiala with 39 points in 41 games; and Morrissey with 43 points in 38 games, as well as Beniers with 27 points in 36 games and Thompson with an 18-9-1 record and a .915% save percentage in their rookie seasons.