EASTERN CONFERENCE

Starters
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins - Forward
Alexander Ovechkin - Washington Capitals - Forward
Daniel Briere - Buffalo Sabres - Forward
Brian Campbell- Buffalo Sabres - Defence
Sheldon Souray - Montreal Canadiens - Defence
Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres - Goal

Goaltenders
Martin Brodeur - New Jersey Devils
Cristobal Huet - Montreal Canadiens

Defence
Jay Bouwmeester - Florida Panthers
Zdeno Chara - Boston Bruins
Tomas Kaberle - Toronto Maple Leafs
Brian Rafalski - New Jersey Devils

Forwards
Jason Blake - New York Islanders
Simon Gagne - Philadelphia Flyers
Dany Heatley - Ottawa Senators
Marian Hossa - Atlanta Thrashers
Vincent Lecavalier - Tampa Bay Lightning
Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning
Brendan Shanahan - New York Rangers
Eric Staal - Carolina Hurricanes
Justin Williams - Carolina Hurricanes






WESTERN CONFERENCE

Starters
Joe Thornton - San Jose Sharks - Forward
Joe Sakic - Colorado Avalanche - Forward
Jonathan Cheechoo - San Jose Sharks - Forward
Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim Ducks - Defence
Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit Red Wings - Defence
Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks - Goal

Goaltenders
Miikka Kiprusoff - Calgary Flames
Marty Turco - Dallas Stars

Defence
Philippe Boucher - Dallas Stars
Dion Phaneuf - Calgary Flames
Kimmo Timonen - Nashville Predators
Lubomir Visnovsky - Los Angeles Kings

Forwards
Bill Guerin - St. Louis Blues
Martin Havlat - Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Marleau - San Jose Sharks
Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets
Yanic Perreault - Phoenix Coyotes
Brian Rolston - Minnesota Wild
Teemu Selanne - Anaheim Ducks
Ryan Smyth - Edmonton Oilers
Henrik Zetterberg - Detroit Red Wings

Now if I'm right, the NHL is required to choose, at least one player from each team, so that every franchise is represented at the All Star Game. That being the case, you aren't really seeing the true All Stars of the league. Now for those of you who were pissed off about the Vote for Rory Fitzpatrick campaign, take a look at some of the talent not going to the All Star Game:

Marc Savard - Boston Bruins
Martin Straka - New York Rangers
Olli Jokinen - Florida Panthers
Rod Brind'Amour - Carolina Hurricanes
Paul Kariya - Nashville Predators
Ilya Kovalchuk - Atlanta Thrashers
Maxim Afinogenov - Buffalo Sabres
Dominik Hasek - Detroit Red Wings
Jean Sebastien Giguere - Anaheim Ducks
Alexander Frolov - Los Angeles Kings

The best of the best is clearly not being represented. The best of each team is obviously. No Alfredsson, Nylander, Sedin twins, the list is actually pretty depressing. But I guess this is what the event has become over the years. When the Rangers sucked big time for the last 10 years, I was actually embarassed when Brian Leetch was the lone figure in blue parading around that weekend. You could almost see the expresssions on his peer's faces...."Hey Brian, what the heck are you doing here?" If my team blows, really I'd rather watch how the best play. That's just my opinion.

As far as the All Star Game itself, well that is borderline unwatchable. The skills competition is fun, particularly the shooting contests, which I wish they'd expand a little but for most, especially the players, this weekend will bring rest. New York's Jaromir Jagr, who declined an invitation in favor of rest will be one of the many recovering from a long first half of the season. Perhaps we will take a break, and give our liver's a rest.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh