Carolina Hurricanes: Teravainen Snubbed of Last Men in Vote

The Fans have spoken and Carolina Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen was ousted from going to the All-Star Game by another player. Is it Fair?

The final votes are in folks and with a heavy heart I must report that Teuvo Teravainen, despite our best efforts to vote him in, will not be going to the all star game this season to represent the Carolina Hurricanes. In his stead will be Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie who will represent the Metro Division as the third from the capital city.

There is a lot to unpack here from this selection and subsequent snubbing. Teravainen was the best candidate among the ones available to be voted for, there is no question about it. He has nine goals and 33 assists for 42 points in 45 games played. T.J. Oshie only has 33 points total split between 18 goals and 15 assists. I have so many issues with this selection.

First of all let me make something clear, T.J. Oshie won this fight fair and square within the rules established for the “last men in” vote. I have no issues with that. As a prior St. Louis Blues player he has also gotten a lot of support from the fanbase of the hosting city of the All Star Game along with the rabid following the Capitals have established thanks to years of actually being good.

That said, I am now arguing that a popularity competition devalues the All-Star game. If selection to the game is based on which team has the most fans along with which players have the most name recognition, matched up with the at least one player per team and only 11 man rosters, it should stop calling itself the “All Star Game”. Because it doesn’t have All Stars.

Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov are both better selections than Oshie and were not even brought into the conversation. Aho has 23 goals and 17 assists. Svechnikov has 18 goals and 24 assists. Both are performing eons better than Oshie and are understandably more exciting players to watch. But let me stop picking on Oshie for a second, not his fault he is popular after all.

The All-Star format, which breaks players down to individual divisions, is inherently flawed. Where is the excitement of watching bitter rivals, now forced to be coached by a rival coach play together? Not to mention that a loaded division will be forced to sit out a few players who deserve to be there and other divisions will end up sending players who do not.

Add on the fact that these same players have been denied the chance to represent their country in the Olympics and you have a chemical formula for a very dry and unloved event.  All this together creates an event that is absolutely worthless to the players.

What is the honor of being an All-Star when you either know that there is another player who has the same honor who doesn’t deserve it, or the player knowing that they do not deserve to be there among the real All-Stars yet being there. No wonder Alex Ovechkin continues to dismiss the game. Can’t blame him.

The three game mini-tournament isn’t exciting and there are no real stakes. I am not sure what the real solution is, because the fantasy draft style of a few years ago wasn’t it either. The game is supposed to be fun, where players can bring some extra flash and skill and be kids again and really show off their skill. That isn’t what is happening. A few players are trying, but other players don’t seem to care.

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The real solution starts with actually bringing together the real All-Stars from all the teams, no matter how many are stacked on a single team. You can keep your 1 per team, but there shouldn’t be a forced format per division. From there we can figure out how the rosters would be made. Perhaps a different type of draft? Perhaps go back to North America vs The World?

I am not sure what we are going to do about the All-Star game, but what I do know is that the current path is leaving many good players without the proper honors. Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, and Andrei Svechnikov are only a few of the many good players who are forced to sit this out even though they are more than deserving.

Question For CC Readers: What do you think should be done about the All-Star Game?