My All-Star Picks for the 2023-24 Season

All-Star festivities are less than a month away. With the league primed to release its first set of names to the All-Star Game in Toronto, I've decided to throw my picks out there because why not? With the draft element coming back, it frees things up a little more. Each team will have one representative, but there won't be as much of a concern to balance certain aspects of it. Not every division needs a certain amount of goalies. One division could send five defensemen, while another only sends two or three. It frees things up, which is great. I still tried to adhere to certain guidelines. Of my 44 selections, there are 24 forwards, 12 defensemen, and eight goalies. From there, I've selected four captains, one from each division. They will be in charge of selecting their team, which is comprised of six forwards, three defensemen, and two goalies. Even with the newfound freedom, it was still hard to narrow it down to 44 players. Some teams have several contenders, while there were some teams it was hard to find one player to send. I separated my choices by division to make it easier for me to sort them out. I think I've put together a decent list. 

Atlantic

BOS- F David Pastrnak, G Jeremy Swayman

BUF- D Rasmus Dahlin

DET- F Alex DeBrincat

FLA- F Sam Reinhart

MTL- D Mike Matheson

OTT- F Tim Stutzle

TBL- F Nikita Kucherov, D Victor Hedman

TOR- F Auston Matthews, F William Nylander

Virtual Locks- Pastrnak, Kucherov, Matthews, Matheson, Nylander, Swayman, DeBrincat

More Than Likely- Hedman, Dahlin

Close Calls- The two toughest decisions were Ottawa and Florida. Giroux, Batherson, and Tkachuk all garnered serious consideration for the Senators. Stutzle only has seven goals, which is seventh on the Sens. However, he's easily their best playmaker, so his goal total doesn't bother me. For Florida, I almost selected Bobrovsky over Reinhart. Both are very deserving, and Bobrovsky is quietly having a phenomenal season, but Reinhart is near the top of the league in goals, making his exclusion unacceptable. 

Metropolitan

CAR- F Sebastian Aho

CBJ- D Zach Werenski

NJD- F Jack Hughes

NYI- F Mathew Barzal, D Noah Dobson

NYR- F Artemi Panarin, D Adam Fox

PHI- F Travis Konecny

PIT- F Sidney Crosby, G Tristan Jarry

WSH- G Charlie Lindgren

Virtual Locks- Panarin, Crosby, Konecny, Lindgren, Dobson, Aho

Most Likely- Hughes, Werenski, Barzal, Fox

Close Calls- Goaltending in the Metro this season hasn't been very good. New Jersey and Carolina have struggled to get consistent goaltending for most of the year. The two New York teams aren't stopping pucks at the same rate they usually do. Lindgren is an obvious pick. Quick and Nedeljkovic have been good but haven't played enough. Jarry is the next best option. He has four shutouts and has solid numbers otherwise, so he's deserving of a spot. 

Central

ARI- G Connor Ingram

CHI- F Connor Bedard

COL- F Nathan MacKinnon, D Cale Makar

DAL- F Jason Robertson

MIN- F Kirill Kaprizov

NSH- F Filip Forsberg, D Roman Josi

STL- F Robert Thomas

WPG- D Josh Morrissey, G Connor Hellebuyck

Virtual Locks- MacKinnon, Bedard, Hellebuyck, Makar, Ingram

Most Likely- Thomas, Forsberg, Josi, Morrissey

Close Calls- Much like in the Atlantic, there are a few teams that are tough to figure out. In the Central, it's for different reasons. For Dallas, there are several players worthy of a spot. Four players have over 30 points, but I decided on Robertson since he's leading the team in scoring. Conversely, there aren't but a few names that jump out. Kaprizov feels like the default answer as their leading scorer, though Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek could make a case. 

Pacific

ANA- F Frank Vatrano

CGY- F Blake Coleman

EDM- F Connor McDavid, D Evan Bouchard

LAK- G Cam Talbot

SEA- D Vince Dunn

SJS- F Tomas Hertl

VAN- F JT Miller, D Quinn Hughes, G Thatcher Demko

VGK- F Jack Eichel, G Adin Hill

Virtual Locks- McDavid, Hughes, Demko, Hill, Hertl

Most Likely- Vatrano, Bouchard, Talbot, Miller, Eichel

Close Calls- Calgary was the toughest call to make. I've seen people say Markstrom should be the choice, but I think there are several more deserving goalies, especially in the Pacific. They don't have many skaters having great years, and while I think Kadri is the more likely choice, Coleman should be rewarded for his strong play on both ends of the ice. Seattle also has an interesting situation because Daccord has come on strong in the last few weeks. Dunn is one of the few defensemen leading their team in scoring, and he has consistently been good all season. 

Picking the Teams

With the representatives selected, I decided it would be fun to go ahead and draft the teams, too. I selected Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby to serve as the captains. Matthews feels self-explanatory since the game is being played in Toronto. McDavid is the best player in the world, so he was a gimme. The Central Division had a few options, but MacKinnon felt like the best choice. Crosby is the veteran of the group, and it was only fair that he be the final representative. Instead of showing it round-by-round, I opted to show it based on the line combinations. I selected the draft order randomly. It's not meant to be taken seriously. I was just trying to have fun with it. 

Team Matthews

F- Auston Matthews

F- William Nylander

D- Victor Hedman

F- Jack Hughes

F- Sam Reinhart

D- Roman Josi

F- Frank Vatrano

F- Blake Coleman

D- Mike Matheson

G- Thatcher Demko

G- Cam Talbot

If Matthews gets the first pick in the draft and Nylander is there with him, there's no way he won't pick him. The fans in Toronto would likely revolt if he didn't. 

Team McDavid

F- Connor McDavid

F- Nikita Kucherov

D- Evan Bouchard

F- Artemi Panarin

F- Sebastian Aho

D- Rasmus Dahlin

F- Alex DeBrincat

F- Travis Konecny

D- Vince Dunn

G- Jeremy Swayman

G- Charlie Lindgren

This team strikes me as being the most well-rounded of the four. McDavid and Kucherov together would be electric. Panarin and Aho are two of the best playmakers in the Metro. I'd be terrified to commit a penalty against this group. 

Team MacKinnon

F- Nathan MacKinnon

F- Jack Eichel

D- Cale Makar

F- JT Miller

F- Filip Forsberg

D- Josh Morrissey

F- Tim Stutzle 

F- Robert Thomas

D- Zach Werenski

G- Connor Hellebuyck

G- Connor Ingram

Team MacKinnon has the best goalie duo in Hellebuyck and Ingram. Their first group with MacKinnon, Eichel, and Makar would be a nightmare to deal with, too. 

Team Crosby

F- Sidney Crosby

F- Connor Bedard

D- Quinn Hughes

F- David Pastrnak

F- Jason Robertson

D- Adam Fox

F- Kirill Kaprizov

F- Tomas Hertl

D- Noah Dobson

G- Adin Hill

G- Tristan Jarry

I'll admit that the prospect of Crosby and Bedard together was too awesome to pass up. While I had Crosby taking Pastrnak first, I would hope to see these two together once the games started.