Should there be a 3rd All Star Team? (and what it may look like)

BlueBull

Habby Man
Oct 11, 2017
1,696
1,434
Vancouver Island
I think that the NHL should make a 3rd team, here is why:
In 1931, when the 1st and 2nd All Star Teams were created, there were 10 Teams in the NHL. From 1943 until 1967, there were 6, and they still had 2 Teams. Now, there are 31, soon to be 32 Teams in the National Hockey League, yet, there are still only 2 All Star Teams in the NHL. The NHL, despite some people saying there has been over-expansion, has a more talented pool of players then there was 60 years ago.

The NBA has already done this. They used to have only 2 All-NBA teams, but when they expanded from 23 to 25 teams for the 1988-1989 Season, they added an extra All-NBA team due to the fact there was going to be 300+ players in the NBA compared to just 100+ back when the first had 2 All-NBA teams.

Looking at this, I think that the NHL should have added a 3rd team around the mid 90s at the earliest.
I have put together three 3rd All Star Teams from random seasons to see how talented this 3rd team would be. (3rd teams are based off of All Star Team Voting, courtesy of Hockey-Reference, for those years.)
These are my 3rd All Star Team Examples:

1995:
:pensLW Luc Robitaille (42 pts) :pensC Ron Francis (59) :bluesRW Brett Hull (50)
:habs:flyersD Eric Desjardins (29) :flamesD Phil Housley (43)
:capsG Jim Carey (2.13 GAA)

2010:
:sharksLW Patrick Marleau (83) :boltsC Steven Stamkos (95) :rangersRW Marian Gaborik(86)
:flyersD Chris Pronger (55) :sharksD Dan Boyle (58)
:devilsG Martin Brodeur (2.24 GAA)

2018:
:capsLW Alex Ovechkin (87) :kingsC Anze Kopitar (92) :pensRW Phil Kessel (92)
:capsD John Carlson (68) :starsD John Klingberg (67)
:boltsG Andrei Vasilevsky (2.62 GAA)

... Yeah. A lot of those players were star players.
So what do you think? Should there be a 3rd All Star Team?
I think there should. The NHL has many star players, and this would be a good way to reward some of the better players in the NHL as well as a way to show off a few more players to the public.

-BlueBull
 
Mar 11, 2013
2,051
995
QC
The NBA does it and they have far fewer players, so why not.
It's also a massively star driven league and people care way more about the all star teams in the NBA than the NHL (especially now that making the All-NBA team allows you to get more money on your next contract), same goes for the all star game that absolutely noone cares about whereas in the NBA it's a huge deal to be selected an all star.
 
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Albus Dumbledore

Master of Death
Mar 28, 2015
9,007
2,670
It's also a massively star driven league and people care way more about the all star teams in the NBA than the NHL (especially now that making the All-NBA team allows you to get more money on your next contract), same goes for the all star game that absolutely noone cares about whereas in the NBA it's a huge deal to be selected an all star.
nhl should make it more important ive found they care less too but its still a big deal imo.
being a top 3 player at your position should be recognized more.
 

bobholly39

Registered User
Mar 10, 2013
22,078
14,585
I think so

I know when comparing players historically (ie today vs 06 era) - the thing that irks me the most is AS teams. Finishing 2nd team AS in an 06 league isn't necessarily the same as in a 32 team league - and even if it is in some cases (it's plausible a 2nd team AS in 06 has a fantastic season), the more important component is that the player who would have finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th AS in a 32 team league likely is super close to the guy finishing 2nd, yet gets no credit. Odds are - there weren't nearly as many players who didn't get credit in a 6 team league.

So i'd be for it.
 

Khelandros

Registered User
Feb 12, 2019
3,926
4,410
It's funny that a league that has 4 forward lines, 3 defensive pairings, and 2 goalies, only has 2 lines for All-Star. Really should ice a whole team.
 

BlueBull

Habby Man
Oct 11, 2017
1,696
1,434
Vancouver Island
It's funny that a league that has 4 forward lines, 3 defensive pairings, and 2 goalies, only has 2 lines for All-Star. Really should ice a whole team.
That would make it a bit weird for forwards. Malkin, Marchand and Laine would have been the 4th Team for forwards in that case, and they would have 12, 266 and 66 votes less than the 3rd team forwards.
They only give out first, second and third choices for voters in the first place, so that is why 3rd team makes a lot more sense than just making a full roster.
 

Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
40,352
16,638
Mulberry Street
It's also a massively star driven league and people care way more about the all star teams in the NBA than the NHL (especially now that making the All-NBA team allows you to get more money on your next contract), same goes for the all star game that absolutely noone cares about whereas in the NBA it's a huge deal to be selected an all star.

Disagree about this, AST's are a good way to see just how good a player was in a particular season. Voting records don't always paint the full picture and the AST's go by position so its easier to see who was say a top 5 LW from 199-1996
 

Khelandros

Registered User
Feb 12, 2019
3,926
4,410
That would make it a bit weird for forwards. Malkin, Marchand and Laine would have been the 4th Team for forwards in that case, and they would have 12, 266 and 66 votes less than the 3rd team forwards.
They only give out first, second and third choices for voters in the first place, so that is why 3rd team makes a lot more sense than just making a full roster.
They only give out 1,2,and 3 choices because they are trying to fill two lines. If they are trying to fill a team, then it would be the same voting as for every other award, top 5.
 

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