With the NHL's 2024 all-stars being announced tomorrow, we dive into who might represent the Senators.
The NHL's 2024 all-star selections will be announced tonight (Jan 4). The league will select one player from each team to participate, and then the final 12 players will be chosen later by a fan vote.
We're betting that Tim Stutzle will get the call this time.
Stutzle is the Senators' top scorer – the guy with the speed and the dazzling puck skills. Plus, he's never been an all-star before, and the league does like to show off its shiny new toys after Christmas. All-Star Weekend is about entertainment, and, as every Senator fan knows, Stutzle is a fun player to watch.
But don't confuse what we believe will happen with what we think should happen. Stutzle would be a great representative, but in a perfect world, the Senators would be sending their most valuable player this season – the one who plays the game the right way at both ends almost every night.
When you base the selection solely on merit, it not only honours and rewards that player, it sends a message to the rest of the team that that's the 200-foot standard they need to strive for.
Here are the two players we believe have earned all-star selections ahead of Stutzle.
Brady Tkachuk
At times this year, Tkachuk has looked a little discouraged and overly emotional, but he remains the heart and soul of the Sens roster. He's still trying to lead by example, dragging the team into the fight, and has over twice as many goals as Stutzle.
Tkachuk probably won't get the call because he's been at each of the last three all-star weekends for Ottawa (one as an injury replacement for Drake Batherson). At this moment, we think he's an even more worthy choice than Stutzle.
Claude Giroux
Sure, he's 36 next week, but nothing about his game suggests he isn't 26. What's working against Giroux is that he's been to the all-star game seven times before. In 2022, he was the Metro captain and MVP in the final.
With the Senators sleeping through the first period in Vancouver last night, falling behind 5-0, Giroux refused to mail in the last 40 minutes. He was miles better than any Senator on the ice. He's just three points back of Stutzle in points, kills penalties, should probably be on the first unit of the power play, and consistently plays the game the right way.
So, while we think Stutzle will get the all-star nod on Thursday, the veteran Giroux is the one who most deserves it. But who knows? After the fan vote, there may be room for more than one.
NHL All-Star Weekend Changes
Toronto will host All-Star Weekend on February 1-3, and they've changed up the skills competition quite a bit. It will feature 12 All-Stars competing for points in eight events, with the player accumulating the most points winning $1 million.
Each player will compete in four of the first six events listed below, earning points for their respective finish.
- Fastest Skater
- Hardest Shot
- Stick Handling
- One-Timers
- Passing Challenge
- Accuracy Shooting
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- Shootout (top 8 point-earners advance)
- Obstacle Course (top 6 point-earners advance)
The top eight point-earners will advance to the seventh event, the shootout, where each player will choose which goalie to shoot against. Following the shootout, the top six point-earners advance to the final event: the Obstacle Course, where the point totals are doubled.
In addition, the 2024 NHL All-Star Fan Vote will return in January, enabling fans to select 12 more players to complete the All-Star rosters.
NHL All-Star Thursday will take place on Feb. 1 and will include the All-Star Player Draft. The league will select captains from the pool of 44 players and pair them with celebrities for some reason. The captains will pick the four teams for the 3-on-3 All-Star Game (tournament) on Feb. 3. All-Star Thursday will also include NHL Alumni Man of the Year, a tribute to Toronto's last Cup win from (I'll need a calculator for this) 56 and a half years ago, and the PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase.