Frozen Fantasy: All-Star Snubs

The NHL All-Star teams were announced last week. And Sidney Crosby's absence dominated sports talk, news headlines and social media. But was he the biggest snub?

Not a chance.

Lost in the conversation are a number of guys who deserve to be there before even the slow-starting Crosby. Michael Cammalleri is having a remarkable season, but he lost out because of the Cory Schneider effect. Corey Crawford, the forever underrated goaltender, lost out because of the Blackhawks effect. And both John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov suffer from the Caps' flu. And probably will for a long time.

All deserving. But all passed over.

I get the NHL's kumbaya approach to picking All-Stars -- Gary Bettman has to bow down to the owners, all of whom want at least one of their guys on the team. And this year's divisional format screws a lot of deserving players, all for the sake of a brutally weak Pacific division.

I've flagged five guys -- Sid aside, of course -- who should be in Nashville at the end of the month. Four are from the elite Central where it's difficult to displace the incumbents. But one is from the Pacific. And I believe he should be there over Corey Perry.

Here are my five most-wanted All-Star Snubs:

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton - Draisaitl is producing at a point-per-game pace and is plus-9 for a last-place team. And he's the sole reason (sorry, Taylor Hall) that the Oil is within five points of a playoff spot, especially while Connor McDavid is MIA. Edmonton should have two players on Team Pacific, not Anaheim.

John Klingberg, Dallas - Fast. Agile. The next Erik Karlsson. And way better than my beloved Shea Weber. Gulp. Klingberg is second in NHL scoring from the blue line and top-15 overall. But Nashville defenders dominate the Central Division team. His time will come. I just wish that time was now.

Artemi Panarin, Chicago - Panarin is on pace to equal Patrick Kane's rookie scoring totals and is a top-10 NHL scorer as a rookie. I hate to say it, but he should be in Nashville, not Jonathan Toews. I know, I know -- I threw up in my mouth writing that about my beloved number 19.

Alexander Steen, St. Louis - Sooooo, sit down. Ready? Steen's point-per-game production the last three seasons is better than studs Pavel Datsyuk, Anze Kopitar, Corey Perry and both Sedins, among many more. But he's never been to an NHL All-Star Game. #shame. He's in the NHL's top-20 scorers this season.

Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg - Wheeler is having the best season of his career. He has 40 points in 41 games and that ties him for seventh overall in NHL scoring. And he's fourth in the NHL in assists. But sadly, one of the league's best power forwards gets a vacation at month's end.

I'd love to see all five of these guys in black and white on January 31. You?

Now, let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Blake Comeau, LW, Colorado (4 percent Yahoo owned) - Comeau is your standard, 30-35 point, third-line winger who chips in ways that can really only help in specialty categories like hits. He's no pylon offensively -- it's just that his role as a sturdy, hard-hitting checker is way more important. That said, though, Comeau has four assists and 19 hits in his last four games. And he's on pace for 35-40 points and 220 hits. Will that help your squad?

Sean Couturier, LW/C, Philadelphia (6 percent) - Couturier is a tease, but I've told you that before. He's an elite, two-way shutdown guy who has all the talent in the world. But like Jordan Staal (below), Couturier has chosen to suffocate the opposition's best rather than get giggly in the offensive zone. Except for the last three-plus weeks. He has 12 points, including six goals, and a plus-12 rating in his last 10 games. That's elite territory. Roll him until he reverts back to simply sucking the air out of the defensive zone.

Louis Domingue, G, Arizona (25 percent) - Three weeks ago, I told you Domingue was for the truly desperate, but he might deliver in the right matchups. I'll call mea culpa on that one. He proved me wrong. Since he took the blue paint, Domingue has recorded six wins in eight starts and became the first Yotes rookie to record wins in three straight games. I still think he's nothing more than a backup, but right now he's over performing and that's fine by me. Serve while hot. Just make sure you can fit him in without dropping a more valuable asset.

Tomas Hertl, LW/C, San Jose (15 percent) - Hertl has struggled to regain his rookie form and that's not really a surprise. He played way over his head back then, but one thing is clear -- he can ride on the coat tails of more talented line mates and he's doing that now. Hertl led the Sharks with two goals and an assist in a 7-0 win over the Leafs on Saturday night ... alongside the two Joes -- Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Hertl is a must-add as long as this continues. It won't go on forever, so get ready to dump him. And keeper owners who've been holding out hope for this kind of performance should pump his tires and trade him out of town while other owners think he's all that and a bag of chips.

Bo Horvat, C, Vancouver (3 percent) - I give this guy a lot of credit -- he's done a lot of heavy lifting this season. The knock on Horvat has been his skating, but he has been busting it at practice (and then some) to improve that part of his game. It shows. He had 10 points in his first 39 games and now has five, including four goals, in his last three games. Couple that with his extraordinary two-way game and you have a young man taking the next step. Get on board. Now.

Tobias Rieder, RW, Arizona (6 percent) - Rieder is a guy who flies under the radar, especially with all the high-end talent the Yotes are accumulating. He works hard and has pretty good skill. And he has quietly put up eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last six games. Rieder is on pace to top 50 points this season and that means he's a worthy daily activation in 12-team leagues that roll three righties.

Nate Schmidt, D, Washington (1 percent) - Schmidt is one of those guys whose game just screams YAWN. He's effective in a bottom-pairing role because he skates well, controls gaps and can chip in offensively. And that's just what he's doing now. Schmidt has quietly put up a four-game, five-point streak after delivering just six points in his first 34 games. He's not exactly filling in for the injured John Carlson, but he's making the most of some extra ice time. Owners in deep, DEEP leagues should take a sniff.

Jordan Staal, LW/C, Carolina (7 percent) - Can Staal combine offense and defense? And do it consistently? I wish, but he has this week. He's on a three-game, six-point streak based on three straight two-point games. Good start. And back in 2011-12, Staal delivered at a 66-point pace (but only for 62 games). He has the talent to deliver 25 (or more) points over the second half. Seriously. This could be his time to grow.

Back to the snubs. Or should I say, rewards?

A three- or even four-game break away from hockey for those "unlucky" ones could be -- no, probably WILL be -- the best thing that could happen to their games. Time with family. Time on the beach. Time away from the pressure cooker.

Who doesn't crave a quick holiday, especially at the end of January? Thought so.

They'll come back rested with something to prove. I'd start there if I needed to add some firepower at the trade deadline.

Until next week.