The All-Star break has come and gone, and NHL teams have about 30 games left to lock down a playoff berth. The new All-Star game format was seen as a relatively strong success, especially considering the likes of Sidney Crosby and Corey Crawford were left at home. You have to think that Crawford, Crosby and players like Blake Wheeler and Oliver Ekman-Larsson probably could and should have made their divisions' rosters.
Immediately after last Sunday's three-on-three tournament, the NFL's Pro Bowl kicked off. Players were chosen based on a full season of work, rather than the opening two-thirds of the game slate. How would All-Star selections change in the NHL if the game were played at the tail end of the regular season?
Excluding players who either made the game or were snubbed (yes, Crosby and many others are not listed because they easily could have been on the ice on Sunday), six players who weren't on the ice in Nashville stuck out as potential NHL All-Stars after a full season's work. All of the nominations fell statistically short of being All-Stars at this point, but their second-half histories point to their putting up All-Star-like numbers by April.