Today, the rest of the players that will be participating in the All-Star Game in Ottawa were announced, and rather than make a complete rundown of who was named, I have decided, for the purposes of this blog, to highlight a few choices and the snubs. First, the forwards, and one wonders if Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, and Corey Perry all got in based on name recognition. Sure, Kane is having a decent year, but would you put him in over Jordan Eberle? I wouldn't, and I certainly wouldn't put Ovechkin in over his teammate Niklas Backstrom, although Backstrom is dealing with concussion issues. And Perry over Teemu Selanne? This is clearly the most baffling decision of all, as Perry is having a rather pedestrian season while Selanne is not only the team leader in points, but also on the right side of the +/- ledger while Perry is a -11 (!). On the blue line, I would argue that Kevin Bieksa should get in before Alexander Edler, but that is personal bias on my part. As far as the goaltender portion, Carey Price is a puzzling pick, but when you have a team that reeks both on and off the ice, as the Canadiens do, I suppose this is one where you can make the argument against every team being represented. Rookies? Until I saw who got picked, I didn't think Cody Hodgson still qualified as a rookie, but if I did have my pick to replace him, I'd go with Nino Niederreiter, just so I can say two ex-Portland Winterhawks players are in the All-Star weekend.
Update: Now, we know why Perry will be representing the Ducks and not Selanne. It's hard to fault
Selanne for anything, and now, that includes lobbying for Perry to be the Ducks' representative. Though Selanne was clearly the team's best player, the fact that he gave up his potential spot for a teammate further adds to the legacy that he will leave once his playing days are over.
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