One of the top contenders for the Hart Trophy this season, Nathan MacKinnon received another honor Thursday night.
The Avalanche’s superstar forward was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, marking the seventh time he’s been added to the game, which is Feb. 3 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. That ties Peter Forsberg for second-most in franchise history. MacKinnon now only trails Joe Sakic, who had 12 appearances and is now the team’s president of hockey operations.
MacKinnon began Thursday evening second in the NHL in scoring with 61 points, two behind Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. He started slow, at least by his standards, with nine points in the first 10 games but has been arguably the league’s best player since.
He was named the NHL’s first star of the month for December on Tuesday after collecting 11 goals and 29 points in 15 games. MacKinnon also has the league’s longest point streak this season (19 games).
The NHL announced the first 32 all-stars Thursday night, one for each team, Thursday night. There will be 12 more added later via a fan vote: eight skates and four goaltenders. The vote will be held at NHL.com/vote, on X (formerly Twitter) and the NHL App through Jan. 11.
In addition to MacKinnon’s addition, Sidney Crosby was named an NHL All-Star for the 10th time.
Reigning MVP Connor McDavid is Edmonton’s representative and Kucherov was picked from Tampa Bay. Chicago rookie of the year front-runner Connor Bedard and defending champion Vegas center Jack Eichel were also chosen.
Auston Matthews, the first player to 30 goals this season, is the first Maple Leafs player picked, though he’ll almost certainly not be the home team’s only representative. William Nylander is Toronto’s leading scorer with 51 points. Brady Tkachuk was picked from the Ottawa Senators.
Initial NHL all-stars
Goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Igor Shesterkin (N.Y. Rangers), Cam Talbot (Los Angeles)
Defensemen: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo), Quinn Hughes (Vancouver)
Forwards: Sebastian Aho (Carolina), Mathew Barzal (N.Y. Islanders), Connor Bedard (Chicago), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Seattle), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Alex DeBrincat (Detroit), Jack Eichel (Vegas), Filip Forsberg (Nashville), Tomas Hertl (San Jose), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Boone Jenner (Columbus), Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota), Clayton Keller (Arizona), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia), Elias Lindholm (Calgary), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), Auston Matthews (Toronto), David Pastrnak (Boston), Sam Reinhart (Florida), Nick Suzuki (Montreal), Robert Thomas (St. Louis), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Frank Vatrano (Anaheim)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
