Jonathan Toews will be joining Patrick Kane as representatives of the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. The two players were announced as part of the Central roster by the NHL on Wednesday for the event in Nashville on January 30-31.
Each team had one player voted into the division by fans, which is how Kane earned his selection. The other All-Stars were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department. Toews made the Central’s 11-man roster that way. Each team has six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.
Kane and Toews will be joined by Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Vladimir Tarasenko in the Central’s forward corps for the 3-on-3 bonanza. Roman Josi, Shea Weber and Dustin Byfuglien are the defensemen on the roster. No Duncan Keith this year unfortunately. You have to imagine the missed time due to surgery might’ve cost him a spot, although there were a lot of deserving players this year and each team needs at least one player included.
Corey Crawford, meanwhile, gets the shaft in favor of Pekka Rinne and Devan Dubnyk. I know Rinne gets some extra credit because the game is in Nashville but it’s a shame Crawford doesn’t get honored for such a strong start to the season. He’s been the Hawks’ unheralded superstar and proven he’s not simply carried by a good defense. The goaltender has a .925 save percentage and a league-leading six shutouts in 33 games. He made the team via fan vote last season.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how the ASG will work from NHL.com:
The event will be a 3-on-3 tournament pitting the four divisions against one another in a winner-take-all format. The Atlantic Division will face the Metropolitan Division in one semifinal and the Central Division will face the Pacific Division in the other semifinal. The winners play in the championship game.
Toews and Kane will be appearing in the All-Star Game together for the fourth time. They also went as teammates in 2009, 2011 and 2015. Kane went without Toews in 2012.
Kane currently leads the NHL in points (59), assists (36) and power play goals (12). He’s taken his game to another level this season with career-highs in points per game (1.44) and shots on goal per game (3.46) on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. Toews isn’t having his best year but he gets in on name value and the strength of his two-way game. The captain has 14 goals and 26 points in 41 games.
Given the success that Toews, Kane and the Hawks have had in 3-on-3 overtimes this year, it should be fun to see how this year’s event pans out.