The 2018 NHL All-Star Game is set to take place over the weekend of Jan. 27-28. As per tradition, the 63rd edition of the All-Star game will have its skills competition held the night before the games. This will be the third consecutive year the league will have a four-team divisional format. The Metropolitan Division won last year’s affair and outscored its opponents 14-9.
With that in mind, the league has announced the rosters for the 2018 All-Star game, highlighted by its four captains. Steven Stamkos will captain the Atlantic Division while Alexander Ovechkin holds the honors for the Metropolitan Division. P.K. Subban and Connor McDavid will captain the Central and Pacific Division teams respectively. Both Subban and McDavid are returning captains for their respective divisions.
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Jon Cooper and Barry Trotz were named the head coaches of the Central and Metropolitan Division teams. Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant will coach the Central and Pacific teams respectively. The All-Star festivities will be hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are hosting their second All-Star Game in franchise history. The events will take place at Amalie Arena and will once again be under a 3-on-3 tournament format.
Here are the roster breakdowns for the 2018 NHL All-Star Game:
Atlantic Division
The Atlantic Division roster is highlighted Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos. Kucherov’s 27 goals and 60 points lead the NHL and have him projected to finish the year with new career highs. The 24-year-old is on pace to end the year with 51 goals and 114 points. No player in the NHL has a higher points-per-game (P/GP) than Kucherov’s 1.40 P/GP.
In total there are four Lightning players at this year’s All-Star game, including Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Carey Price highlights the list of returnees and was the captain of last year’s Atlantic team. The other five returnees are Kucherov, Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Brad Marchand, and Auston Matthews. This will be the first NHL All-Star Game for Vasilevskiy, Aleksander Barkov, and Jack Eichel.
| Player | Team | GP
GP |
G
W |
A
GAA |
PTS
SV% |
| Carey Price (G) | Montreal Canadiens | 29 | 13 | 2.89 | .911 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy (G) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 36 | 27 | 2.10 | .933 |
| Mike Green (D) | Detroit Red Wings | 41 | 4 | 20 | 24 |
| Victor Hedman (D) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 43 | 6 | 27 | 33 |
| Erik Karlsson (D) | Ottawa Senators | 36 | 3 | 27 | 30 |
| Aleksander Barkov (F) | Florida Panthers | 41 | 14 | 26 | 40 |
| Jack Eichel (F) | Buffalo Sabres | 43 | 17 | 22 | 39 |
| Nikita Kucherov (F) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 43 | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| Brad Marchand (F) | Boston Bruins | 32 | 17 | 23 | 40 |
| Auston Matthews (F) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 34 | 19 | 14 | 33 |
| Steven Stamkos (F) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 43 | 17 | 35 | 52 |
Metropolitan Division
The Metropolitan Division will be without its All-Star MVP from last year in Wayne Simmonds, but the roster is still deep. It’ll be fun for fans to see the list of usual suspects like Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares and Taylor Hall in 3-on-3 action. Giroux currently leads the Metropolitan in scoring with 52 points in 42 games. He’s followed closely by a pair of New York Islanders in Tavares and Josh Bailey, who have 51 and 50 points respectively.
This will be the first All-Star Game for Bailey, who is enjoying a breakout campaign. He’s on the verge of setting new career highs in goals and points he set last season. Noah Hanifin will also be playing in his first All-Star Game. The Metropolitan team should create some excitement thanks to its who’s who of names and star power. Is it possible they win the 3-on-3 tournament for a second straight year?
| Player | Team | GP
GP |
G
W |
A
GAA |
PTS
SV% |
| Braden Holtby (G) | Washington Capitals | 32 | 24 | 2.68 | .917 |
| Henrik Lundqvist (G) | New York Rangers | 35 | 19 | 2.52 | .924 |
| Noah Hanifin (D) | Carolina Hurricanes | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| Seth Jones (D) | Columbus Blue Jackets | 44 | 7 | 21 | 28 |
| Kris Letang (D) | Pittsburgh Penguins | 41 | 3 | 24 | 27 |
| Josh Bailey (F) | New York Islanders | 42 | 12 | 38 | 50 |
| Sidney Crosby (F) | Pittsburgh Penguins | 44 | 15 | 28 | 43 |
| Claude Giroux (F) | Philadelphia Flyers | 42 | 14 | 38 | 52 |
| Taylor Hall (F) | New Jersey Devils | 39 | 15 | 27 | 42 |
| Alex Ovechkin (F) | Washington Capitals | 43 | 27 | 19 | 46 |
| John Tavares (F) | New York Islanders | 43 | 22 | 29 | 51 |
Central Division
A pair of Winnipeg Jets will highlight the Central Division team for the All-Star Game. Connor Hellebuyck has had a sparkling 2.36 goals-against average (GAA), and a .923 save percentage (SV%) through 35 games. The 24-year-old has earned some Vezina Trophy consideration as he leads the second-place Jets in the Western Conference. Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler joins Hellebuyck, and he’s presently tied for the scoring lead among Central Division players with 52 points in 44 games.
Hellebuyck isn’t the only first-time All-Star on this team either. John Klingberg, Alex Pietrangelo, and Brayden Schenn will also make their debuts. Only four players return from last year’s team. Those players are Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyler Seguin, and P.K. Subban.
| Player | Team | GP
GP |
G
W |
A
GAA |
PTS
SV% |
| Connor Hellebuyck (G) | Winnipeg Jets | 35 | 23 | 2.36 | .923 |
| Pekka Rinne (G) | Nashville Predators | 32 | 21 | 2.43 | .924 |
| John Klingberg (D) | Dallas Stars | 43 | 6 | 33 | 39 |
| PK Subban (D) | Nashville Predators | 42 | 9 | 23 | 32 |
| Alex Pietrangelo (D) | St. Louis Blues | 42 | 7 | 23 | 30 |
| Patrick Kane (F) | Chicago Blackhawks | 42 | 18 | 27 | 45 |
| Nathan MacKinnon (F) | Colorado Avalanche | 41 | 18 | 34 | 52 |
| Brayden Schenn (F) | St. Louis Blues | 46 | 17 | 27 | 44 |
| Tyler Seguin (F) | Dallas Stars | 43 | 21 | 19 | 40 |
| Eric Staal (F) | Minnesota Wild | 43 | 19 | 18 | 37 |
| Blake Wheeler (F) | Winnipeg Jets | 44 | 14 | 38 | 52 |
Pacific Division
Only four players are coming back from last year’s Pacific Division team. Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau, Brent Burns and Drew Doughty are back from last year’s team that lost to the Metropolitan Division in the final. Along with some firepower, the Pacific team will have a stellar combination of goaltenders with Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick in net.
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Four of the Pacific Division’s top five scorers will be at the All-Star Game. Gaudreau currently leads the division in scoring with 13 goals and 49 points in 42 games. Connor McDavid will captain the team as mentioned above. Brock Boeser and Rickard Rakell will make their first All-Star Game appearances in their young careers. Boeser currently leads all rookies with 22 goals and 40 points in 40 games and is a front-runner for the Calder Trophy.
| Player | Team | GP
GP |
G
W |
A
GAA |
PTS
SV% |
| Marc-Andre Fleury (G) | Vegas Golden Knights | 12 | 9 | 1.73 | .945 |
| Jonathan Quick (G) | Los Angeles Kings | 36 | 18 | 2.55 | .921 |
| Brent Burns (D) | San Jose Sharks | 40 | 7 | 23 | 30 |
| Drew Doughty (D) | Los Angeles Kings | 42 | 7 | 23 | 30 |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D) | Arizona Coyotes | 43 | 6 | 13 | 19 |
| Brock Boeser (F) | Vancouver Canucks | 40 | 22 | 18 | 40 |
| Johnny Gaudreau (F) | Calgary Flames | 42 | 13 | 36 | 49 |
| Anze Kopitar (F) | Los Angeles Kings | 42 | 17 | 27 | 44 |
| Connor McDavid (F) | Edmonton Oilers | 44 | 15 | 33 | 48 |
| James Neal (F) | Vegas Golden Knights | 41 | 18 | 11 | 29 |
| Rickard Rakell (F) | Anaheim Ducks | 38 | 15 | 16 | 31 |