(REUTERS/Mike Cassese)
By Lukas Hardonk (@LukasHardonk)
The National Hockey League announced the six players who have been voted into the 2012 All-Star Game on Thursday morning. While the results didn’t really come as much of a surprise, a lot of fans expressed their displeasure over what they are calling ballot stuffing.
The reason why these fans are upset is simple: Of the six players voted into the All-Star Game, one at each position, four currently play for the Ottawa Senators. As you may already know, this year’s All-Star festivities are being held in the city of Ottawa.
Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, star centre Jason Spezza, third-year defenceman Erik Karlsson and breakout forward Milan Michalek were all selected to play in the All-Star Game by fans. The other two players, defenceman Dion Phaneuf and goaltender Tim Thomas, both play for Northeast Division teams as well.
This year’s fan voting has really brought out the flaws in the current system. Some have suggested that the league decide who the All-Stars should be, although that could easily cause multiple conspiracy theories.
Fan voting seems to be the most viable option, as it keeps fans connected and, in most cases, makes for a more entertaining All-Star weekend.
Just because four of the six players voted to play in the game play for a middle-of-the-pack team doesn’t mean this year’s All-Star Game won’t be a good one; Alfredsson, Spezza, Michalek, Karlsson, Phaneuf and Thomas are all very talented players who deserve to play in the game one way or another.
Alfredsson recently scored his 400th career goal and has 28 points in 34 games this season, Spezza sits 11th in league scoring, Michalek is on-pace for a career-high 41 goals and Karlsson is just three points off of a point-per-game average.
As for the other two, Phaneuf is a physical, big and intimidating defenceman who has a blast of a shot and has the ability to score goals and put up points. Thomas, an NHL veteran, owns a 1.90 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.
Others likely to appear in the game include Phil Kessel, who was beat out by Michalek by just 42,144 votes, Toronto’s Joffrey Lupul, San Jose’s Joe Thornton, Boston’s Zdeno Chara, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos and Vancouver’s Sedin twins, who currently sit one-two in league scoring.
This year’s NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft will be held on January 26 in the Nation’s capital. The Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition will go on January 28, followed by the Tim Horton’s NHL All-Star Game on January 29.
Follow Lukas on Twitter @LukasHardonk for more Maple Leafs coverage.
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