Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin among selections for Atlantic and Metropolitan Division All-Star teams
The NHL has announced their selections for the Atlantic and Metropolitan Division teams for the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Say hello to your Atlantic and Metropolitan Division All-Stars. 🤩
Â
Which team do you think will come out on top?
 #NHLAllStar | @NHL pic.twitter.com/A0cpcjlURZ
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 Atlantic Division team are Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins, Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres, Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings, Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers, Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The selections for the Metropolitan Division team are Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.
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. However, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has already clinched his spot on the Atlantic team, as the second placed Maple Leafs can’t pass the Boston Bruins by the 11th. Rod Brind’Amour looks like the likely candidate for the Metropolitan Division, as the Hurricanes lead the division by five points with a 25-7-6 record.
Some notable omissions include Auston Matthews and William Nylander from the Leafs; Andrei Vasilevskiy from the Lightning; Ilya Sorokin from the Islanders; and David Pastrnak from the Bruins.
These two teams feature six first-time All-Star selections, which include Thompson with 30 goals and 55 points in 36 games, Ullmark with a 21-1-1 record and .939% save percentage, Hayes with 32 points in 37 games after being a healthy scratch earlier in the season, Nelson with 38 points in 39 games, Svechnikov with 33 points in 38 games, and Shesterkin with an 18-6-5 record and a .917% save percentage. This will also be the first time that Matthew and Brady Tkachuk will play together in the NHL, even if it’s not in a legitimate game.