Guentzel is NHL All-Star, Letang ‘Last Men In’ Candidate

Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel will represent the Penguins and the Metro Division at the NHL All-Star Game at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Jan. 24-25. Defenseman Kris Letang is a “Last Man In candidate to be voted in by the fans. The NHL released the divisional rosters later Monday afternoon.

Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, who leads the NHL in save percentage and goals against average was snubbed in favor of the lone Columbus representative Joonas Korpisalo and did not make the team.

As it was in past years, the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game will be a three-on-three tournament between the divisional teams. The All-Star Game will be on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. The usually enjoyable NHL Skills Competition will be Friday, Jan. 24.

This is Guentzel’s first All-Star selection. The 25-year-old Penguins winger has been one of the few healthy Penguins this season. He has played in all 38 games. Guentzel is 12th in the NHL with 19 goals and leads the Penguins with 40 points (19g, 21a).

The Metro Division Roster from NHL.com:

F Mathew Barzal, NYI

F Jake Guentzel, PIT

F Kyle Palmieri, NJD

F Artemi Panarin, NYR

F Travis Konecny, PHI

D John Carlson, WSH

D Dougie Hamilton, CAR

D Seth Jones, CBJ

G Braden Holtby, WSH

G Joonas Korpisalo, CBJ

‘Last Men In’

The Penguins All-Star potential is defenseman Kris Letang, who again is again a candidate for the ‘Last Man In’ fan selection. The last roster spot will be filled via fan vote which begins on Jan. 1. Letang has 26 points (10g, 16a) in 30 games. He ranks third among Metro Division defensemen in goals, fifth in assists and fourth in points.

From the NHL release:

Here is how to vote starting on January 1:

NHL.com/Vote features interactive ballots available in eight languages – English, French, Czech, Finnish, German, Russian, Slovak and Swedish – and accessible anywhere in the world.

The NHL App offers fans a mobile interactive ballot that is available on most devices. Additionally, fans can join the conversation by using the official hashtag #NHLAllStar.

Letang is facing off against the following players in hopes of joining the Metropolitan Division roster for the three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format: Teuvo Teravainen (CAR), Nick Foligno (CBJ), Nico Hischier (NJD), Brock Nelson (NYI), Mika Zibanejad (NYR), Claude Giroux (PHI), and T.J. Oshie (WAS).

Should Letang be voted into the All-Star Game by the fans, it will be the sixth selection of his career. That would surpass Hall-of-Famer Paul Coffey for the most All-Star selections by a defenseman in franchise history.