It’s the halfway mark of the NHL season and All-Star weekend is set to get underway tonight at Staples Arena in Los Angeles, California. The best players from each division are ready to out-do each other in the skills competition, and compete in the one million dollar three-on-three tournament tomorrow night. Every player’s invitation to the event was warranted (well, for the most part), but a group of deserving players narrowly missed the cut. Using the leftovers, We’ve compiled four teams, one from each division, to see how they would square up with the ones that are set to play on Sunday.
ATLANTIC
(Via NHL.com)
Leftover Team
Forwards
Jonathan Drouin- Tampa Bay Lightning
David Pastrnak- Boston Bruins
Mitch Marner- Toronto Maple Leafs
Henrik Zetterberg- Detroit Red Wings
Max Pacioretty- Montreal Canadiens
Alex Radulov- Montreal Canadiens
Defencemen
Keith Yandle- Florida Panthers
Mike Green- Detroit Red Wings
Rasmus Ristolainen- Buffalo Sabres
Goalies
Frederik Andersen- Toronto Maple Leafs
Mike Condon- Ottawa Senators
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
(Via NHL.com)
Leftover team
Forwards
Phil Kessel- Pittsburgh Penguins
Jeff Skinner- Carolina Hurricanes
Nicklas Backstrom- Washington Capitals
Jakub Voracek- Philadelphia Flyers
Alexander Wennberg- Columbus Blue Jackets
Derek Stepan- New York Rangers
Defencemen
John Carlson- Washington Capitals
Nick Leddy- New York Islanders
Justin Schultz- Pittsburgh Penguins
Goalies
Cam Ward- Carolina Hurricanes
Thomas Greiss- New York Islanders
CENTRAL DIVISION
(Via NHL.com)
Leftover Team
Forwards
Artemi Panarin- Chicago Blackhawks
Mark Scheifele- Winnipeg Jets
Matt Duchene- Colorado Avalanche
Jamie Benn- Dallas Stars
Mikael Granlund- Minnesota Wild
Nikolaj Ehlers- Winnipeg Jets
Defencemen
Kevin Shattenkirk- St. Louis Blues
Dustin Byfuglien- Winnipeg Jets
Roman Josi- Nashville Predators
Goalies
Pekka Rinne- Nashville Predators
Scott Darling- Chicago Blackhawks
PACIFIC DIVISION
(Via NHL.com)
Leftover team
Forwards
Leon Draisaitl- Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Getzlaf- Anaheim Ducks
Rickard Rakell- Anaheim Ducks
Henrik Sedin- Vancouver Canucks
Logan Couture- San Jose Sharks
Anze Kopitar- Los Angeles Kings
Defencemen
Dougie Hamilton- Calgary Flames
Alec Martinez- Los Angeles Kings
Oliver Ekman-Larson- Arizona Coyotes
Goalies
Cam Talbot- Edmonton Oilers
John Gibson- Anaheim Ducks
They may not be as stacked as the original teams, but everyone can agree these leftover ones would stand a chance.
Which one do you think would do the best?
