Deep Blue Sea: Hey now, you’re (maybe) an All-Star

It’s that time of year again … when fans vote on which NHL player they’d like to send to the NHL All-Star weekend. Or, basically, fans vote on which player is their favorite.

The NHL All-Star event is a typically two-day affair filled with gimmicky events (such as the Brent Burns-approved hardest shot competition), fan perks (player signings and more), and the All-Star games, where teams made up of the best (read: favorite) players compete together on the same teams. It’s a fun event for fans, a brief holiday for the players who aren’t selected (Miami, anyone?) and part of the job for the players who are voted to go.

While the increase in organizational COVID outbreaks, postponed games and general unease towards something that is sure to be a super-spreader event remain huge concerns regarding the 2022 NHL All-Star weekend in Las Vegas, as of right now it’s still on the calendar.

Voting will end this Saturday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET, which means there’s still time to sneak in your favorite Sharks player. The players who receive the most votes in their divisions will be named captains for the divisional teams — which makes this popularity contest all the more fun. Fans will have the rest of this week to vote and rosters will be announced on Jan. 13 on ESPN. Each team will have at least one representative and NHL Hockey Operations will decide the rest of the roster.

According to NHL.com, Alex Ovechkin is (unsurprisingly) leading the hunt in the Metropolitan Division with 30.5 percent of the votes going his way. Connor McDavid is leading the Pacific Division with 28.7 percent of votes, Auston Matthews with 16.9 percent of votes for the Atlantic and Nathan MacKinnon with 13.9 percent for the Central Division. No big surprises there.

The Pacific Division is clearly where all the fun is. While McDavid is in the lead for captain, Leon Draisaitl is second with 11.1 percent of the votes, but Mathew Tkachuk (6.8 percent) and Trevor Zegras (3.9 percent) are still in the mix with several days to go. As for Sharks players who can earn your ballot, Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Timo Meier are the team’s nominees.

I don’t ask for much, but a Pacific Division team led by either Tkachuk or Zegras sounds like chaos incarnate and I am begging for that to happen.

If you haven’t done so already, you can vote here.

News & Notes

• Sharks’ Boughner looks at shaking up defense after ugly loss to Penguins [The Mercury News]
• The 22 biggest takeaways from the Sharks’ wild first game of 2022 [The Athletic]/

Blood in the Water

• Ovechkin leading all players entering final week of NHL All-Star fan vote [NHL]
• Ovechkin, McDavid and Matthews among NHL All-Star Game’s top vote-getters [Sportsnet]
• Talbot out indefinitely for Wild with lower-body injury [NHL]
• Penguins forward Kasper Bjorkqvist overcomes obstacles – not setbacks – to reach the NHL [TribLive]
• Where it all went wrong for the Kraken this season [NBC Sports]
• NHL Rumour Roundup: Is it almost time for the Oilers to make a move? [Sportsnet]
• Blackhawks players had cars stolen in Chicago valet robbery [New York Post]
• Surgery Goes Well for Tanev [NHL]
• Boldy, Rossi potentially making NHL debuts Thursday [Hockey Wilderness]
• Winter Classic: Potential sites and matchups for the 2023 edition of NHL’s outdoor event [CBS]/

Scores & Recaps

• Edmonton Oilers 1, New York Rangers 4/

Click on a team name to find a recap on their SB Nation site!

On the Schedule

• New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on SNP, NESN, MSG+, ESPN+
• Calgary Flames at Florida Panthers, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on BSFL, SNW, ESPN+
• Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on BSOH, BSSUN, ESPN+
• San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings, 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET on BSDET, NBCSCA, ESPN+
• Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks, 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET on TVAS, ESPN+, HULU
• Winnipeg Jets at Arizona Coyotes, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on BSAZ+, TSN3, ESPN+
• Nashville Predators at Vegas Golden Knights, 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET on ATTSN-RM, BSSO, ESPN+
• Philadelphia Flyers at Anaheim Ducks, 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET on SN, BSSC, BSSD, NBCSP, ESPN+/