I know many of you will come to this article in hopes of seeing big flashy names that were snubbed this year by the league. I could do that, but I will let you in on a little secret: Sidney Crosby didn’t deserve to go to the All-Star Game this year. *GASP* For all of the uproar, it isn’t as if he was going to go anyway. He missed the All-Star Game last year and was seen laying out getting his tan on.
Forget his name. These are the real players who got shafted.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Would there be a more exciting player in a 3-on-3 format? Kuznetsov flies around the ice with such ease it is baffling to think that he isn’t on the roster. He very quietly leads the team in points ahead of players like Backstrom and Ovechkin. Understandably, both of those players made the team because of their name recognition. So between the two, who should be removed in favor of Kuznetsov? Surprisingly, I would say Ovechkin. This is nowhere close to his best year and I am sure he would gladly allow his teammate to take his spot and take a break that he deserves.
John Klingberg
The Central division is filled with a couple of snubs and flubs. First of which is Klingberg. Klingberg is playing at a career-best pace and at a very, very young age. He is second in the entire league in points for defensemen, trailing only behind Erik Karlsson. The Central division is a mess overall with their defensive picks. Shea Weber and Roman Josi both didn’t need to be picked and Dustin Byfuglien wasn’t very deserving either. You could’ve replaced any of them with Klingberg and been no worse for the wear.
If he did replace Byfuglien though it would leave a void for a Winnipeg Jets selection, which leads me to my next snub…
Blake Wheeler
Did you know that Blake Wheeler is seventh in the league in scoring? Seriously. That isn’t a joke, go look it up. He is a point-per-game player right now and play like that should be rewarded, right? Well it is tough to do in the foward stacked Central. The name to remove out of the bunch is Jonathan Toews, which I am sure will ruffle more than a few feathers. Toews is having a down year and really shouldn’t be a selection. Sometimes your name does get you pretty far. Unfortunately for Blake Wheeler, it isn’t to Nashville.
