As per a tweet by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox on Tuesday, “Connor McDavid says Zach Hyman should be in the All-Star Game.” As the Edmonton Oilers host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, a lot of talk surrounds the All-Star game, particularly the player selections. The Oilers are sending two players in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, while Toronto is sending four: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, and William Nylander. Not in is Hyman, even though he should be.
While McDavid didn’t take a shot at the selection process or the fans for not getting their guy in, no one should be shocked if he’s a bit irked. The reason Hyman isn’t going is twofold. First, the NHL mandates that every team has a representative there. It’s a stupid rule that diminishes the idea of it being an All-Star Game. Second, because of the fan vote, teams with fans who show up and vote in droves get their players in. As such, the Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks are heavily represented — the Canucks with five players going.
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Oilers fans have no excuse. They are a passionate fan base and there are plenty of them. When they want something bad enough, they often will it into existence. They listen intently to radio shows, follow every move the team makes, and discuss the highs and lows as much as any fan base. There were plenty of reminders to get out there and vote. Not getting online and doing so for Hyman is the main reason he’s not there. That’s disappointing.
Oilers Fans Had So Many Reasons to Show Up and Vote
The narrative behind Hyman being in the game essentially wrote itself. All the fans needed to do was ensure the rest of the story could be told. Hyman is having a career season. He’s got 26 goals and 42 points in 36 games. On merit alone, he should be a part of the weekend.
Outside of his on-ice play, this was the story of a player who played multiple seasons in Toronto, coming back to the city to play in an All-Star Game after that team let him walk in free agency. Overshadowed by the core four, many fans shunned him on the way out the door, saying he would never be worth the $5.5 million per season the Oilers gave him as a free agent. Not only has that signing been worth every penny, but he’s exceeded the value of it each season he’s been with the team. Oilers fans could have made it possible for Hyman to skate back into Toronto and show them how incredible a player he’s become.
Will Hyman Get Another Chance at an All-Star Game?
And, with all the confidence in the world that he’ll continue to be a solid player for Edmonton, this may have been his best chance to get in. Whether fans assumed others would vote or that on merit alone he’d make the cut, he didn’t. It’s too bad. He would have added an interesting element to the game as he’s unlike many of the other skilled players attending and it arguably might have meant more to him than most to be there.
The only hope now is that not going lights a bit of a fire underneath Hyman and that energy comes out in regular season games, and ultimately the playoffs.
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