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NHL Announces 2024-25 All-Star Teams

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Shortly after announcing this year’s All-Rookie Team, the NHL shared this year’s First and Second All-Star Teams. There are few surprises, with several of the recipients receiving votes for major awards around the league. The teams are as follows:

First Team

LW Kyle Connor (Jets) – Connor arguably completed the best season of his career, scoring 41 goals and 97 points, barely eclipsing his 93-point campaign in 2021-22 (although he did score 46 goals). Being the offensive leader for the Presidents Trophy-winning team made him a lock for All-Star Team honors, and he beat out Hagel by 100 votes.

C Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) – In the closest vote, MacKinnon nearly beat out Draisaitl as the league’s top center from the 2024-25 season, with Draisaitl receiving more First Team votes than MacKinnon. Still, the 2023-24 Most Valuable Player scored 10 more points than Draisaitl this year, while arguably being a larger part of his team’s success without having Connor McDavid as a teammate.

RW Nikita Kucherov (Lightning) – The reigning Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner was a near-unanimous selection for First Team honors, with only two voters assessing he wasn’t worthy. Although he couldn’t match his 100-assist output from last year, Kucherov was again dominant for the Bolts, scoring 37 goals and 121 points in 78 games.

D Cale Makar (Avalanche) – This year’s James Norris Trophy winner received the most First Team votes of any player on the 2024-25 All-Star Teams with 189. Makar has been on one of the best offensive runs from a defenseman in recent memory, scoring 51 goals and 182 points in his last 157 games, with another six goals and 20 points in 18 postseason contests.

D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets) – As one of the more unheralded members of the All-Star Team, Werenski came into his own during the 2024-25 campaign. He scored 23 goals and 82 points in 81 games, averaged 26:45 of ice time per game, and finished with 131 blocked shots. Being one of the prime reasons that the Columbus Blue Jackets nearly qualified for the postseason, it’s unsurprising Werenski received so many Norris votes and was named one of the league’s top defensemen.

G Connor Hellebuyck (Jets) – Despite tying with Kucherov with the second-most First Team votes, there was no clearer choice for the league’s top netminder than Hellebuyck. The American netminder secured the Vezina Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy this season, leading the league in wins (47), GAA (2.00), shutouts(8), Goals Saved Above Average (41.6), and Adjusted Goals Against Average (2.13).

Second Team

LW Brandon Hagel (Lightning) – Hagel narrowly beat out Alex Ovechkin for Second Team honors despite the latter receiving more First Team votes. Regardless of Ovechkin’s impressive season, there’s no question the right decision was made with Hagel. The six-year veteran scored 35 goals and 90 points in 82 games for Tampa Bay this season, besting his career-high last season by 15 points. Additionally, unlike Ovechkin, Hagel finished ninth in Selke Trophy voting as one of the league’s top defensive forwards.

C Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) – As previously mentioned, the vote between Draisaitl and MacKinnon came down to the wire. Draisaitl finished with an equally impressive season, scoring 52 goals and 106 points in 71 games, securing the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal-scorer. Furthermore, in a solid argument for Draisaitl, he finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting, far higher than MacKinnon, who placed 29th.

RW David Pastrňák (Bruins) – In another close vote, Pastrňák narrowly bested Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner for the second-best right winger from the 2024-25 campaign. Despite a lackluster year from the Boston Bruins, who finished with the 28th-ranked offense, Pastrňák didn’t notice. The Czech winger scored 43 goals and 106 points in 82 games, and brought up his production over the last three years to 151 goals and 329 points in 246 games.

D Victor Hedman (Lightning) – The captain of the Lightning was also in a close vote, beating Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey by a few votes. There are arguments for both sides, but Hedman finished the year with more goals (15), assists (51), points (66), blocked shots (133), and CorsiFor% at even strength (53.5%) compared to Morrissey.

D Quinn Hughes (Canucks) – Hughes rightfully received the most Second Team votes of his counterparts. As the primary reason the Vancouver Canucks had any sense of competitiveness this year, Hughes scored 16 goals and 76 points in 68 games, averaging 25:44 of ice time a game. Had Hughes remained healthy for the entire 2024-25 campaign, he likely would have presented a bigger challenge to Makar and Werenski as the league’s top blueliner.

G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning) – After a down 2023-24 campaign (comparatively to his career), Vasilevskiy returned to form in 2024-25. The former Vezina Trophy winner finished with a 38-20-5 record in 63 starts, with a .921 SV% and 2.18 GAA. It wasn’t enough to beat out Hellebuyck, but Vasilevskiy easily would have been named the league’s top netminder in any other year.

Cale Makar Wins 2025 Norris Trophy

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Avalanche star Cale Makar has been voted the NHL’s top defenseman and will take home the 2025 James Norris Memorial Trophy, the league announced Wednesday.

It’s the second time taking home the Norris for Makar, who became the first defenseman in Avalanche franchise history to win it when he was crowned the league’s best rearguard following the 2021-22 season. He was the clear favorite for the award, becoming the first D-man to hit 30 goals and 90 points in the same season since Paul Coffey in 1988-89 while finishing the year with a 10-point lead in scoring among defenseman ahead of the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, although the two tied with 54 even-strength points.

Among defensemen, Makar also ranked 11th in plus-minus (+28), first in points per game (1.15), second in shots on goal (246), and third in average time on ice (25:43). He also recorded 128 blocks, the second-highest mark of his six-year career. Makar’s possession impacts once again flourished after an unusually subpar defensive showing in 2023-24, controlling 56.6% of shot attempts and a career-high 59.4% of expected goals at even strength.

The 6’0″ righty finished ahead of Werenski and Canucks lefty Quinn Hughes for the award. Makar received 176 first-place votes and 1,861 total points, while Werenski was the runner-up with 13 first-place votes and 1,266 points. The full voting breakdown is as follows, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic:

  1. Makar – 1,861 points (176-13-2-0-0)
  2. Werenski – 1,266 points (13-132-38-7-1)
  3. Hughes – 918 points (2-39-110-21-12)
  4. Josh Morrissey, Jets – 280 (0-5-18-41-32)
  5. Victor Hedman, Lightning – 265 (0-1-11-55-38)
  6. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres – 120 (0-0-4-26-22)
  7. Thomas Harley, Stars – 60 (0-1-1-7-27)
  8. Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes – 60 (0-0-2-13-11)
  9. Lane Hutson, Canadiens – 42 (0-0-1-5-22)
  10. Jake Sanderson, Senators – 33 (0-0-0-9-6)
  11. Evan Bouchard, Oilers – 29 (0-0-2-4-7)
  12. Adam Fox, Rangers – 9 (0-0-1-0-4)
  13. Gustav Forsling, Panthers – 8 (0-0-1-0-3)
  14. Ryan McDonagh, Lightning – 5 (0-0-0-1-2)
  15. Devon Toews, Avalanche – 4 (0-0-0-1-1)
  16. John Carlson, Capitals – 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
  17. Jakob Chychrun, Capitals – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Brock Faber, Wild – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Shea Theodore, Golden Knights – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)

Makar’s run of dominance to begin his career is putting him on a fast track to Hall-of-Fame status. He’s now the sixth player to win at least two Norrises in the first six seasons of his NHL career, and he’s been a finalist for the award in every year since his rookie season. He still finished in the top 10 in voting while winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 2019-20.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar Named Ted Lindsay Award Finalists

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Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar have been named the Ted Lindsay Award finalists for the 2024-25 season, the NHLPA announced today. The Lindsay Award is given to the league’s most outstanding player as voted on by his peers.

Now in his 11th NHL season, Kucherov became the 10th player in league history with three or more scoring titles. He’s the first player with back-to-back Art Ross Trophies not named Connor McDavid since Jaromír Jágr won four straight from 1998 to 2001. He finished the campaign with 37 goals, 84 assists, and 121 points in 78 games, not quite sniffing last year’s career-highs across the board but still leading the league in assists and points.

If Kucherov wins, it’ll be his second Lindsay after winning it alongside his first Art Ross-winning season in 2018-19. He’s also just the fourth player in league history to record three consecutive 80-assist seasons, joining Paul Coffey, Wayne Gretzky, and Bobby Orr.

It’s rare to see two players from the same club nominated for the same award, but the wording of “most outstanding” as compared to “most valuable” in the Lindsay fine print opens up the opportunity for this award compared to the media-voted Hart Trophy for league MVP. MacKinnon could be the first back-to-back winner of the Lindsay since McDavid in 2016-17 and 2017-18. He tied Kucherov’s league-leading 84 assists this year and added 32 goals in 79 games in what was a down season for him in the shooting department. MacKinnon’s sky-high 22:47 average time on ice per game led all forwards this year, and he led the league in shots on goal (320) for the fourth time in his 12-year career. MacKinnon totaled 116 points for his third straight season above the century mark.

As for Makar, he was announced as a Norris Trophy finalist just yesterday for the fifth time in his six-year NHL resume. He registered a career-high 30 goals and 92 points in 80 games to lead NHL defensemen, now poised to take home the Defenseman of the Year award for the second time while potentially adding a Lindsay to his trophy case. He faces some extremely long odds, though. A defenseman has only won the Lindsay once since it was introduced as the Lester B. Pearson Award in the 1970-71 campaign – Orr took it home in 1974-75. Carey Price (2014-15) is the only non-forward to win it in the last 28 years.

Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Zach Werenski Named Norris Trophy Finalists

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The Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, the Avalanche’s Cale Makar, and the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski are the 2024-25 Norris Trophy finalists for the NHL’s top defenseman, per a league announcement.

There are no surprises in this triumvirate. While it’s likely to be a closer race than yesterday’s Vezina Trophy announcement, Makar’s the frontrunner after setting a new career high with 30 goals and 92 points in 80 games. Now a Norris finalist five times in six years to begin his career, the 26-year-old became the first rearguard since Mike Green in 2008-09 to hit the 30-goal mark. He was the first to also eclipse 90 points in the same year since Paul Coffey in 1988-89.

Makar’s defensive impacts also rebounded after a strikingly pedestrian 2023-24 season in his own end. He posted a 56.6 CF% at even strength and a 59.4 xGF%, the latter standing as a career-high over a non-shortened season. He’s finished third in Norris voting the last two years after winning the award in 2022, but he’s almost certainly set to get back into the top two.

If not for an oblique injury taking a bite out of his campaign, Hughes would have more of a chance to win back-to-back Norris Trophies for the first time since Nicklas Lidström’s three-peat from 2006 to 2008. The 5’10” lefty matched the 1.12 points-per-game rate that won him the honors last year and finished the year with 16-60–76 in 68 games, his fourth straight campaign above the 60-assist mark. Hughes’ 25:44 time on ice per game trailed only Werenski among skaters.

As for Werenski, he becomes the first defenseman in Blue Jackets franchise history to earn a Norris nomination. The 27-year-old finished eighth in voting in 2019-20 but hasn’t received any consideration since then. He exploded back onto the scene in 2024-25, driving Columbus’ resurgent seventh-ranked offense with a team-high 82 points in 81 games. His 1.01 points per game were third in the league behind Makar and Hughes, but a higher percentage of his offensive production came at even strength. 35 and 29 of Makar’s and Hughes’ points came with the man advantage, while Werenski had only 25 power-play points and matched Makar’s 54 even-strength points to lead defensemen. Werenski also led defensemen with 298 shots on goal and ranked third in the league overall.

4 Nations Notes: Tkachuk, Makar, Armia, Teräväinen

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One of the more unfortunate substories during Team USA’s victory over Team Canada on Saturday night was the lower-body injury forward Matthew Tkachuk suffered in the third period. He won’t play against Team Sweden tonight, as Dan Rosen of the NHL reported that Tkachuk didn’t practice with the team this morning.

Since they are the only team in the tournament with two regulation wins, there’s not much on the line for Team USA this evening. However, it seems the United States is confident Tkachuk will return for the championship game on Thursday. Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe shared a note from Matthew’s brother, Brady Tkachuk, saying Matthew will be ’good to go’ for Thursday’s matchup.

It’ll be important for the United States to get Matthew back in the lineup for the championship contest. He scored two goals and one assist in their victory against Team Finland last week and got the all-important matchup against Canada started with a fight against Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff. Much like they are for their respective NHL clubs, the Tkachuk brothers have quickly become Teams USA’s emotional lifeblood.

Other notes from the 4 Nations Face-Off:

  • Another important substory from Saturday night’s rivalry matchup between Canada and the United States was the lack of the former’s top defenseman, Cale Makar. The former James Norris, Calder, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner was dealing with an illness that prohibited him from participating. Unfortunately for Team Canada, there’s no guarantee he’ll return against Team Finland. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared that Makar has again been listed as a game-time decision for today’s matchup, meaning a firmer decision will be made closer to puck drop.
  • Speaking of Team Finland, the team’s forward grouping will look slightly different. Dan Rosen reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia is replacing Chicago Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teräväinen in this afternoon’s lineup. Teräväinen has gone scoreless throughout the tournament averaging approximately 8:30 of ice time per game.

Cale Makar Out With Illness, Thomas Harley Added To Roster

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Feb. 15th: According to Friedman, Makar has officially been ruled out of tonight’s contest due to an illness. Team Canada has been allowed to add Harley to the roster, who will draw in for Makar this evening.

Feb. 14th: Team Canada could be without its best defenseman, Cale Makar when it takes on Team USA, also without its best defenseman, Quinn Hughes. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported this morning that Makar had missed today’s practice due to illness and that Philadelphia Flyers’ defenseman Travis Sanheim was skating in his spot in the lineup.

It would ultimately be a massive blow to a Canadian team that has already lost defenseman Shea Theodore for the remainder of the tournament. Chris Johnston of The Athletic confirmed yesterday that Dallas Stars’ defenseman Thomas Harley was brought in on a stand-by role should Team Canada lose another defenseman.

Given the tournament’s rules, there was speculation that Harley wouldn’t be allowed to join the team. However, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the NHL and NHLPA concluded that Harley could travel to join the team in Montreal but would only be allowed to practice and/or play if Makar is officially ruled out.

That doesn’t appear to be a likely outcome. LeBrun later shared that Team Canada’s head coach, Jon Cooper, felt confident that Makar would be in tomorrow’s lineup.

Cooper’s confidence should assuage most doubts about Makar’s availability tomorrow night. The former Calder, James Norris, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner went scoreless over 28:06 in Team Canada’s opening night win over Team Sweden adding three blocked shots.

Evening Notes: Wilsby, Georgiev, Makar

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The Nashville Predators have announced that they’ve sent defenseman Adam Wilsby to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. The 24-year-old had been up with the team since November 13th but didn’t see any NHL action. The fourth-round pick in 2020 is in his third professional season in North America and has dressed in 11 AHL games this year with Milwaukee, tallying a goal and two assists to go along with a +4 rating.

The Stockholm, Sweden native has yet to see NHL action in three seasons with the Predators organization but remains someone that team management is high on despite his lack of offensive production. Wilsby has impressed in the AHL with his skating, gap control, and defending in his zone and will likely see another call-up soon.

In other evening notes:

  • Colorado Avalanche netminder Alexandar Georgiev took part in the team’s skate today and could be an option tomorrow in Washington depending on how he feels tonight and tomorrow (as per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette). The development suggests that Colorado is optimistic about the 28-year-old’s recovery and potential return to the lineup. The Avalanche badly need some better goaltending as the team has the worst save percentage in the entire NHL. Georgiev also has a vested interest in turning around the team’s fortune as he is just over seven months away from unrestricted free agency.
  • Sticking with the Avalanche, David Satriano of NHL.com writes that defenseman Cale Makar is the early favourite to capture the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. NHL.com held a 15-person panel to vote on the early season winners and Makar came out ahead of Quinn Hughes and Josh Morrissey. Makar was the NHL’s First Star of the Month in October and began the season with an 11-game point streak that saw him register four goals and 15 assists. Makar is now up to eight goals and 19 assists in 19 games, which is a big reason Colorado has been able to keep pace in the Western Conference despite league-worst goaltending and a litany of injury issues.

Central Notes: Holloway, Kapanen, Makar, Novak, Sissons, Marchment, Vlasic

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In an impressive feat, St. Louis Blues’ forward Dylan Holloway will return to the lineup tonight after leaving the team’s most recent game after taking a puck to the neck (X Link). He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to an emergency department following the incident.

He’s been a solid addition to the Blues this season, as he’s off to the best scoring pace of his career to start the season. Four goals and six points in 13 games don’t necessarily jump off the page but considering he’s only managed nine points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it’s a good improvement.

Unfortunately for St. Louis, the team will still be without forward Kasperi Kapanen tonight. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported the projected lineup for tonight’s game and it didn’t include Kapanan meaning he’s likely still recovering from his upper-body injury.

Other Central notes:

  • Marc Moser of the Colorado Avalanche originally reported earlier that defenseman Cale Makar would be a game-time decision for the team’s contest tonight. As it turns out, Makar is expected to play in tonight’s action. Makar left during the second period of the team’s recent game against the Seattle Kraken but returned for less than a minute in the third period. He’s been the team’s best and arguably the league’s best player this season with five goals and 23 points in 13 games.
  • The Nashville Predators are without a few middle-six forwards tonight as the team announced Thomas Novak is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Colton Sissons has a similar injury designation. The news will inevitably hurt the Predators in one of their least productive areas as their 2.38 GF/G currently ranks 27th in the NHL.
  • Brien Rea of Victory+ reports that Dallas Stars’ forward Mason Marchment is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. This means that Marchment won’t be in the lineup tonight but could make his return this weekend against the Winnipeg Jets. He’s gotten off to a decent start on the year with two goals and eight points in 11 games.
  • Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman Alex Vlasic had an impressive defensive season last year with a 90.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations on a basement-dwelling Blackhawks roster. Now that he’s recorded seven assists in 14 games this year, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic share that Vlasic is now getting outside consideration for Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played internationally for the United States this past summer recording two assists in eight games in the 2024 IIHF World Championships.

Avalanche Notes: Landeskog, Makar, Georgiev

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar is hopeful that forward Gabriel Landeskog will be back at some point this season (as per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette). Landeskog suffered a setback (as per TSN) during his recovery from a knee injury that has kept him off the ice for over two years. The 31-year-old underwent knee surgery shortly after the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and his knee eventually required a cartilage transplant in May 2023.

Landeskog’s recovery has been an on-again-off-again ordeal that has required a great deal of patience. Anytime Landeskog has felt discomfort he has stopped skating to rest his ailing knee.

In other Colorado Avalanche notes:

  • Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will travel with the club for their game tomorrow night, but it appears as though he will be a game-time decision (as per Ryan Boulding of NHL.com). The Avalanche take on the red-hot Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night as they try to climb back to .500. The 26-year-old left last night’s 6-3 win over Seattle after a single shift in the third period and is okay to travel, but he and the Avalanche will proceed with caution and see how he feels tomorrow before making a call on his status.
  • The Avalanche are set to start netminder Alexandar Georgiev when they take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night (as per Ryan Boulding of NHL.com). Georgiev has struggled immensely to start the season, sporting a 1-4-0 record with a .822 save percentage and a 4.62 goals-against average. In his last start, the 28-year-old stopped 21 of 24 shots as the Avalanche fell 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks. Georgiev is in the final season of a three-year deal and is currently carrying a $3.4MM cap hit this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and will need to turn his season around if he hopes to cash in on the open market in 2025.

NHL Announces 2023-24 All-Star Teams

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The NHL announced their annual season-ending All-Star teams as part of last night’s award festivities. The rosters, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, are as follows.

First All-Star Team

LW: Artemi Panarin (Rangers)
C: Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
RW: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
D: Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
D: Roman Josi (Predators)
G: Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)

Second All-Star Team

LW: Filip Forsberg (Predators)
C: Connor McDavid (Oilers)
RW: David Pastrňák (Bruins)
D: Adam Fox (Rangers)
D: Cale Makar (Avalanche)
G: Thatcher Demko (Canucks)

The First Team nod caps off quite a successful 24 hours for MacKinnon, who also swept both media-voted and player-voted MVP honors with the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. It’s his third All-Star nod, although his two prior ones were both Second Team honors in 2018 and 2020. The 28-year-old pivot led the Avs in scoring with 51 goals and 140 points this season and recorded a league-high 405 shots on goal.

Notably, the voting ledger (available in the league’s announcement) indicates Kucherov was the unanimous First Team selection at right wing. That’s the first time that’s happened since 2002, when the Flames’ Jarome Iginla was the across-the-board pick after also winning the Richard and Art Ross trophies. Like Iginla, Kucherov was crowned this year’s Art Ross winner after recording 144 points in 81 games. He tied with McDavid for a league-leading 100 assists, becoming the first winger in NHL history to hit the mark.

Absent from either team is Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews, whose 69 goals this season were the most of anyone since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. He also fell short of being a Hart Trophy finalist behind Kucherov, MacKinnon and McDavid. He was third in All-Star voting among centers, though, and did receive nine First Team and 55 Second Team votes out of 187 ballots. The only other center to receive consideration was the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who only appeared on four ballots.

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