John Klingberg’s All Star Snub May Be Product of System

The NHL announced the All Star Game rosters for all four divisions today. Surprisingly enough, only two Dallas Stars made the cut, leaving a third player on the curb. This player is John Klingberg.

The NHL posted the list of players selected for  the 2016 All Star game held at the end of the month today and while Dallas will be represented by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin the notable John Klingberg was held off the list.

In his second NHL season no. 3 has taken the league by storm, forcing opponents to create strategies to stop the Swedish defender. Having scored 38 points (6G, 32A) in 42 games thus far this season along with playing valuable minutes in Dallas’ 3-on-3 overtime scenarios, Klingberg’s absence from the game begs the question why?

New All Star Format

After the NHL decided to change overtime from 4-on-4 to 3-0n-3 they also opted to change the All Star Game set up. Instead of the previous Eastern Conference versus Western Conference format, the league will employ a divisional round robin play this year.

Therefore each division has eleven total players on their modified rosters: six forwards, three defensemen, and two goalies. With this set up, the high number of skilled players at every position, and the overall competitiveness of the Central Division it’s understandable that some great players were left out.

Location, Location, Location

The best justification for Dallas’ star defenseman not playing for the Central is where the All Star Game will be held. Nashville will serve as this year’s host and will have three of the division’s eleven roster places: Pekka Rinne in goal and Roman Josi and Shea Weber as two-thirds of the defense.

There’s no doubt that Rinne is a solid goaltender and both Weber and Josi posses immense defensive talent; but are they really the best choice for the fast paced 3-on-3 tournament? Not really.

To avoid bias, lets let the numbers speak for themselves. Here are the up to date statistics on Klingberg, Josi, and Weber thus far this season.
[table id=28 /]

Klingberg has played two more games than both of the Nashville defenders; however, one of those was last night making it highly unlikely that it was factored into the decision. No. 3 for Dallas has more points and a higher average time on ice during power plays when compared to the Predators, which would seemingly make him the better option for the offense-heavy All Star format.

Unfortunately for Klingberg, though, votes are political as well and they don’t always rely on the play of the individuals involved. The fact of the matter is that home town fans want to see home town favorites. Seeing that the games will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee it’s hard to overlook the higher number of Predators on this year’s team.

Again, Josi and Weber are great players and they will represent the Central Division to the best of their ability, it’s just unfortunate that the location of the games seems to have influenced the decision.

Not the First, Won’t Be the Last

For reference this isn’t the first All Star Game that has snubbed players with superior performances. The 2011 All Star Game hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes saw Eric Staal as a team captain with teammates Jeff Skinner, Cam Ward, and Jamie McBain on the roster.

The 2012 All Star Game hosted in Ottawa followed a similar path with Daniel Alfredsson as a team captain and Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson on the roster as well. The 2015 All Star Game hosted in Columbus had Nick Foligno as a captain with fellow Blue Jackets Ryan Johansen participating as well.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

All Star rosters are meant to reflect the success of the players during that particular season so they change at least a little with each passing year, however, it should be noted that Karlsson is the only player from the aforementioned list that will participate this year.

While it makes sense to appeal to the market and have players from the hosting team in the games, adding home ice advantage as a reason to include one player over another is questionable at best.

Conclusion

To be frank there’s nothing Klingberg could have done to be chosen. It’s part of the systematic choosing of players and it makes perfect sense. Would you want to go to an All Star Game hosted in Dallas that featured only one Dallas Star? The answer in many cases would be no.

Next: Dallas Stars Have Some Must-Win Games Coming Up

As unfortunate as the business side of hockey can be it’s more important that Klingberg continues to play the way he’s proven he can as the Stars make their way towards the end of the regular season. Come season’s end it ultimately won’t matter if no. 3 was playing in Nashville at the end of January because there will be bigger and better things to focus on.