As I’ve previously written, the NHL all-star game is a waste of time. The players would rather take a one-game suspension than make the journey to San Jose this year. As part of trying to drum up excitement for the stale concept, the league turned roster selection over to the fans several years ago, most infamously leading to John Scott being the captain of the Pacific Division.
This year, there are no career enforcers on a roster, in fact, there is some exciting young talent like Elias Pettersson, Matt Barzal, and Mikko Rantanen. The New York Rangers’ lone representative is goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who is making his fifth all-star game appearance.