Three Central Division Players Snubbed From All-Star Game

The NHL announced the 42 players (36 ‘veterans’, 6 rookies) selected for the All-Star Game set to take place January 23 – January 25 and the Central Division is represented nicely.

All 30 teams in the league have at least one player set to represent their respected teams at the competition. Here are the players set to represent their Central Division club in Columbus:

Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Brent Seabrook

Nashville Predators

Shea Weber, Pekka Rinne, Filip Forsberg (rookie)

St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenkirk

Colorado Avalanche

Erik Johnson

Winnipeg Jets

Dustin Byfuglien

Minnesota Wild

Ryan Suter

Dallas Stars

Tyler Seguin

There will be a fantasy draft on January 23 to divide all players selected onto each All-Star team.

All of the names listed above make a more than viable case as to why they deserve to be called an NHL All-Star this season. However, there are three particular names not listed that arguably deserved an invite to the festivities.

Jamie Benn

The Dallas Stars captain could be looked at as the biggest snub of the selections. Benn has found the back of the net 12 times this season and also tallied 24 assists in his 41 games played. His stellar season has been overshadowed by teammate Tyler Seguin as Seguin has arguably been the best goal scorer in the NHL this season.

Being overshadowed by a teammate is not a bad thing if you’re a Stars fan, but to keep Benn off of the All-Star squad is a bit of a head scratcher. Overall, Benn is a very well liked player – one of many young stars in Dallas that could have easily been a representative at the All-Star game.

Roman Josi

Josi’s defensive partner Shea Weber is set to represent the Predators in Columbus and rightly so. Weber, a former Norris Trophy finalist, is almost a guarantee each season to be an All-Star. Most may assume that the NHL couldn’t have two sets of defensemen from one team selected with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook already representing the Blackhawks (fan voted). Josi is tenth in scoring among all NHL defensemen and fourth on the scoring list for the Predators with seven goals and 20 assists including two game winning tallies.

The 24-year-old puck carrying defenseman is an up-and-comer in this league and his time as an All-Star seems very near on the horizon. Josi can change the game each time the puck finds his stick, and rightly so as he continues to inch closer and closer to the number one blue liner spot in Nashville.

Mike Ribeiro

Another Nashville skater makes the list of snubs. Ribeiro has been through a lot over the past year and a half or so. He’s endured family problems, his contract was bought out by the Arizona Coyotes, but now he has overcome many odds as the number one center and leader in Nashville as the Predators are the top team in the league. The veteran center iceman has had a phenomenal start for the Predators in his first year in the Music City.

Ribeiro has 36 points (9G, 27A) in 41 games; good enough to tie for 13th in the league in total points. He sits only behind rookie phenom Filip Forsberg on the Predators’ scoring list. Ribeiro making the All-Star game would have been a surprise to most but with his phenomenal play this season along with the adversity he’s battled it’s hard to state a strong argument on to why Ribeiro shouldn’t be in Columbus.

These are just three of I’m sure many players that were snubbed from the All-Star ballot. Let us know who you think should be representing the Central Division in the comment section or tweet us @TodaysSlapshot.