Byfuglien named to NHL all-star team

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This article was published 06/01/2016 (3560 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DALLAS — The NHL has snubbed the Winnipeg Jets best player this season, Blake Wheeler, in announcing its 2016 all-star game rosters this morning.

Wheeler, who has 40 points in 40 games so far this season to lead the team in scoring, was passed over in favour of defenceman Dustin Byfuglien on the Central Division team.

Wheeler is likely a victim of the position and numbers game, as the league has decided it couldn’t leave off multiple forward selections from two of the divisions top teams – Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin from the Dallas Stars and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago’s Patrick Kane was already voted to the team by fans.

Once St. Louis scoring phenom Vladimir Tarasenko and Colorado’s Matt Duchene were included, there was no room for Wheeler.

“It is what it is. It’s a popularity contest and I’m not going to lose any sleep over it,” said Wheeler Wednesday outside the Jets dressing room at American Airlines Center. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. But I have no problem taking that time and spending it with my family.

“I’m going to use that time to soak up as much time as I can with my wife and two kids. I feel like I haven’t seen them for three or four months now. There will be lots of good face time.

“It’s not about me, it’s not about stuff like that. I’ve been worried about how we’re going to get our team where we need it to be and I think we’re getting there.”

Joining Byfuglien, who has nine goals and 23 points so far this season, on the Central blueline will be Nashville’s Shea Weber and Roman Josi.

Devan Dubnyk of Minnesota and Pekka Rinne of Nashville will be the goalies.

All teams must be represented in the all-star game by at least one player.

“It’s exciting, it’s an honour,” said Byfuglien. “There’s a lot of good things… it’s great to be a part of a group of guys that get to go out there and play together.”

The game will be played Jan. 31 in Nashville. The league’s annual skills competition, featuring the Western Conference versus the Eastern Conference, will take place on Jan. 30.

Each division’s team will have six forwards, three defencemen and two goalies.

Captains were voted by the fans; Kane, John Scott of Arizona for the Pacific, Jaromir Jagr of Florida for the Atlantic and Alex Ovechkin of Washington for the Metropolitan.

The other 40 selections were made by the NHL’s hockey operations department.

The NHL stars will play a mini-tournament on Sunday of All-Star weekend. Teams from the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions will meet in one, 20-minute semi-final game, while the representatives from the Central and Pacific Division compete in the other. The winners face off for the championship, again, in a 20-minute, three-on-three game.

The format is new this year, with a $1-million prize on the line for the winners as the league’s incentive for more competition and less going through the motions, as in the majority of the recent past.

The teams will switch ends after 10 minutes in each 20-minute game, and a shootout will decide ties.

Byfuglien, who is not a fan of the 3-on-3 – earlier this year he called it a “terrible part of hockey” – will now be playing a whole pile of it during the All-Star Game. Asked for his thoughts on the tournament format, he said:

“I don’t even know what it is, really. It’s 3-on-3… it will be fine. It will be fun.

“Hopefully I can be a forward at that one.”

Coaches for the four all-star teams were to be determined after games of Saturday night, with the coach of the top team in each division (by percentage) getting the nod, but they’re already decided.

Lindy Ruff (Dallas) will guide the Central, Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles) directs the Pacific, Gerard Gallant (Florida) coaches the Atlantic and Barry Trotz (Washington) will run the Metropolitan bench.

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca