NHL Fantasy Roster: Second All-Star Team

The NHL announced its rosters for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, to be played in late January in Nashville, Tennessee.

Four team captains were selected by the fans, with the other 40 players being selected by the league.

Each team is represented by at least one player.

There will be four teams for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game – one for each division. Each team will consist of six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.

As the NHL released its rosters on Wednesday, it got me thinking: what if there was a “second” All-Star Game of sorts?

Or – what if each division also had a ‘”Second All-Star Team,” in addition to the ones named on Wednesday?

With that being said, I decided to try my hand at it. My rules: at least one player per team; six forwards, three D and two goalies per division — and most importantly, no repeating players that have already been selected to the NHL All-Star Game by the league.

We’ll start off with the Atlantic Division.

Here’s the “actual” All-Star roster: Patrice Bergeron – Jaromir Jagr – Leo Komarov – Dylan Larkin – Ryan O’Reilly – Steven Stamkos. Aaron Ekblad – Erik Karlsson – P.K. Subban. Ben Bishop – Roberto Luongo.

And your second roster:

James van Riemsdyk – Jonathan Huberdeau – Jack Eichel – Max Pacioretty – Nikita Kucherov – Alex Galchenyuk. Zdeno Chara – Rasmus Ristolainen – Niklas Kronwall. Andrei Vasilevskiy – Craig Anderson.

I’ll admit it – I was torn. Should Eichel or Ristolainen get the nod as the Sabres’ representative? Then I thought – why not give it to both of them.

In the end, I went with some flashy players (see: Kucherov, Eichel); some classically-skilled players (Chara, Kronwall) and some players that I just felt deserved the nod (Ristolainen, Vasilevskiy, Pacioretty).

Obviously the NHL can only select so many guys, but if they had another team – this would be who I’d like to see.

Next up: the Metropolitan Division.

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Players picked by NHL/fans: Nicklas Backstrom – Claude Giroux – Evgeni Malkin – Alex Ovechkin – Brandon Saad – John Tavares. Justin Faulk – Kris Letang – Ryan McDonagh. Holtby – Schneider.

Now, my choices: Evgeny Kuznetsov – Mats Zuccarello – Ryan Johansen – T.J. Oshie – Phil Kessel – Patric Hornqvist. Adam Larsson – Shayne Gostisbehere – John Carlson. Eddie Lack – Jaroslav Halak.

Come on, just TRY and tell me that having Eddie Lack in an All-Star Weekend wouldn’t be a blast for the NHL. Same goes for Phil Kessel; as much as people like to mess with him, he’s an incredibly skilled player and it’d be great to see him show off.

Evgeny Kuznetsov would bring some flash, while Jaro Halak could flash the leather just enough to keep things interesting. Add in those other pieces – including American Hero John Carlson and ever-fun-name-to-say Gostisbehere.

We’d have a blast.

Third: the Central Division. Actual roster: Jamie Benn – Matt Duchene – Patrick Kane – Tyler Seguin – Vladimir Tarasenko – Jonathan Toews. Dustin Byfuglien – Roman Josi – Shea Weber. Devan Dubnyk – Pekka Rinne.

My second roster: Blake Wheeler – Artemi Panarin – Nathan MacKinnon – Thomas Vanek – David Backes – Andrew Ladd. Ryan Ellis – Jason Demers – Colton Parayko. Corey Crawford – Jake Allen.

How Crawford didn’t actually get a nod is beyond me; it’s a well-deserved spot. Pop in unexpected guys like Panarin, who’s been stellar this year, and add the flash of Parayko, too.

Finally, the Pacific Division.

The actual roster: Johnny Gaudreau – Taylor Hall – Joe Pavelski – Corey Perry – John Scott – Daniel Sedin. Brent Burns – Drew Doughty – Mark Giordano. John Gibson – Jonathan Quick.

My second roster: Henrik Sedin – Leon Draisaitl – Joe Thornton – Shane Doan – Rickard Rakell – Max Domi. Alec Martinez – T.J. Brodie – Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Jhonas Enroth – Karri Ramo.

Say it with me now: Max. Domi. How great would it be to see a young talent like that in the All-Star Game? And OEL? Classic.

Add in the vet Doan, who’s certainly deserving of a spot, and a guy like Joe Thornton with his big personality… plus two solid netminders who’ve been doing it well for the NHL’s Pacific Division this season.

Next: O'Reilly Named to NHL All-Star Game

So, there you have it. If the NHL were to make a “Second All-Star Game,” those would be the teams I’d pick. How about you guys? Anyone you think was snubbed the NHL who you’d like to see on a “second team” of sorts?

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