Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Last night was the NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft. It was a surprising success. NHL fans got to see all of their favorite players having fun. There was lots of entertainment. We got to see Alex Ovechkin act like, well, himself. His excitement about maybe winning a new Honda was simply adorable. We got to witness Drew Doughty heckling everybody. We even saw Phil Kessel get traded for Tyler Seguin (again)! Oh yeah, and the rosters for the rest of the NHL All-Star Weekend were set. Here are the rosters and some analysis of each one.
NHL All-Star Team: Team Foligno
FORWARDS: Nick Foligno (captain), Patrick Kane (alternate captain), Ryan Johansen, Anze Kopitar, Steven Stamkos, Kessel, Claude Giroux, Bobby Ryan, Radim Vrbata, Zemgus Girgensons, Ovechkin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
DEFENSEMEN: Doughty (alternate captain), Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Burns, Kevin Shattenkirk, Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
GOALIES: Carey Price, Brian Elliott, Marc-Andre Fleury.
ROOKIES: Jonathan Drouin, Jiri Sekac
ANALYSIS: I like this forward group. Lots of skill and some potential awesome lines. Some of my favorite forwards in the NHL Doughty and Keith should anchor this blue line and make up for its relative inexperience (two of their six blue liners are converted forwards). They got the best goalie in the draft in Price. I’m sure Fleury has some awesome pads waiting to show off with these jerseys.
POTENTIAL LINEUP: If I were the coach, this would be my lineup. Forward lines and pairings are in no particular order.
Ovechkin – Giroux – Kessel
Foligno – Johansen – Kane
Vrbata – Stamkos – Ryan
Girgensons – Kopitar – Hopkins
Keith – Byfuglien
Doughty – Burns
Larsson – Shattenkirk
Price
Fleury
Elliott
If Ovi and Kessel aren’t on the same forward line, why are we even having the NHL All-Star Game? Since Sidney Crosby isn’t participating in the NHL All-Star Game, Ovi having to play with Giroux will have to do as far as trolling Ovechkin. Foligno and Johansen need to be together because they already create enough offense together. Imagine what could happen if Kane is added to that dynamic duo. I love the Stamkos line. It’s got an elite goal scorer in Stamkos and two underrated guys in Vrbata and Ryan. The sole objective of the fourth forward line is to make sure that Girgensons scores. Give Latvia something to cheer about!
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I’d love to see Keith and Doughty, two of the best blue liners in the NHL, reunited. That said, Byfuglien and Burns are converted forwards. Burns should definitely be a forward. Keith and Doughty must be split up for the betterment of the team. With Byfuglien, Burns, and Shattenkirk (not to mention Ovi), if Team Foligno gets any power plays, that should be a lot of fun.
NHL All-Star Game: Team Toews
FORWARDS: Jonathan Toews (captain), Rick Nash (alternate captain), Ryan Getzlaf (alternate captain), Jakub Voracek, John Tavares, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrice Bergeron, Patrik Elias, Tyler Johnson, Seguin, Filip Forsberg
DEFENSEMEN: Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Brent Seabrook, Aaron Ekblad, Mark Giordano, Justin Faulk
GOALIES: Corey Crawford, Roberto Luongo, Jaroslav Halak
ROOKIES: John Gaudreau, Mike Hoffman
ANALYSIS: In my opinion, Team Toews is the better team. As good as Team Foligno’s forwards are, this team has even better forwards. I love that Weber and Suter are on the same team again. Some interesting choices on their blue line. A very talented, albeit sort of inexperienced, group.
POTENTIAL LINEUP: If I were the coach, this would be my lineup. Forward lines and pairings are in no particular order.
Nash – Seguin – Tarasenko
Tavares – Getzlaf – Voracek
Elias – Toews – Bergeron
Johnson – Forsberg
Suter – Weber
Giordano – Ekblad
Seabrook – Faulk
Crawford
Luongo
Halak
The first forward line absolutely must happen. The NHL All-Star Game exists so that dream forward lines like that can become a reality. The second line puts two of my favorite players (Getzlaf and Tavares) with the league’s leader in points. Everybody wins. The third line is a rarity: a forward line at the NHL All-Star Game that features three players actually known for their defense! Just give Forsberg and Johnson tons of offensive zone starts and prepare for cannon shots.
The NHL All-Star Game shouldn’t even happen if Suter and Weber won’t share the ice again. They had so much success together. Why change anything? I decided to split up the two young guns (Ekblad and Faulk).
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!