(Photo via Tampa Bay Lightning)
By Jake Ricker
Update: Stamkos has been voted in as “last man in” for the Atlantic division. Congrats to the Captain on making his 7th All-Star appearanceee.
The All-Star roster were announced last night, and there's a player missing for the Lightning. Both Vasilevskiy and Hedman received All-Star nods Thursday night, but Steven Stamkos was notably left off the list. Many fans quickly started asking how the captain was left off the Atlantic division roster, and rightfully so.
Stamkos is having one of his best seasons to date with 18 goals, 27 assists, and 45 points as of January 14th. At Stammer's pace, he could finish the season with 38 goals, 58 assists and, 97 points which tie his 2nd most points in his career.
This season, the Lightning have dealt with a few injuries to some of their top players, such as Kucherov and Point. The Lightning needed Stamkos to be their number 1 scorer and the driving force behind their offense with these stars out. This is exactly how things have played out as Stamkos has taken charge and leads the team in both goals and points. But it's not just scoring where Stamkos has led the Lightning. The face-off circle has been an issue for the Bolts this season, but Stamkos has stayed constant and currently leads the team, winning 52% of his face-offs.
Not only did Stamkos lead his team in almost every category, but he also finds himself near the top of the league leaders. Stammer's 45 points are the 6th best in the NHL and 2nd among Atlantic division centers. Stamkos was also one of the top players on the power play, with 8 of his 18 goals on the man advantage. This is good enough for 4th best in the NHL and the best in the Atlantic division.
(Photo via Fox News, Stamkos scores his 18th power play goal of the season against the Canucks)
In almost every category you look at, Stamkos is at the top of his game not only in the Atlantic division but in the NHL. So it begged the question, how did he not make the All-Star game?
Several years ago, the NHL implemented a rule where each team had to have at least one player in the All-Star game. Because of this, it limits the number of spaces, and only a few teams are able to have multiple players sent to the All-Star game. While this rule is great for fans of teams like Coyotes or the Kraken who might not have top NHL players, it hurts teams like the Lightning, who are filled with superstars.
This year it's more than just stats for Stamkos, though. Before the season, the NHL was set to participate in the 2022 winter Olympics which Stamkos had yet to participate in. Whether it was because of injury or the NHL not participating in the games, Stammer had a chip on his shoulder and was excited about the opportunity to go represent his country. In fact, many attribute the captain's success this year to him wanting to prove people wrong who thought he couldn't even make the Canadian roster. Unfortunately for Stamkos and NHL fans alike, we will once again not have the NHL in the Olympics due to Covid concerns.
While The All-Star game is no conciliation prize for missing the Olympics, Stamkos deserves to be recognized for his hard work this year. Luckily there is still a way Stamkos can punch his ticket to Vegas and the All-Star game. The "last man in" vote has begun, and you can vote for our captain here ten times a day until Monday, January 16th. It's going to take all of us to get him the votes he needs, so set your alarms, send out your tweets, tell your friends... let's get our captain to the All-Star game!
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