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Giroux snubbed on All-Star ballot

    by Frank Seravalli
    Published 

Despite leading the Flyers in scoring with 16 points in 16 games, Claude Giroux didn't even make the ballot for the NHL's revamped All-Star Game.

The NHL released their list of 100 candidates for 42 spots on Friday – and Giroux was left off the list.

When voting opens on Monday for forwards, Giroux will be available as a write-in vote only for the fan portion of the game.

In all, five Flyers were represented: Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Danny Briere. All five players have been All-Stars before, with Carter representing the Flyers in 2009 in Montreal and Richards and Timonen heading to Atlanta in 2008. Pronger is a five-time All-Star. None of them have matched Giroux's success in the first 16 games of this season, night in and night out.

Few players, league-wide, have scored the highlight-reel goals and made the beautiful, blind, backhand passes Giroux has this season.

He was rewarded with a 3-year, $11.25 million extension on Monday.

Under the NHL's new All-Star Game format, 3 forwards, 2 defensemen and 1 goaltender will be voted in by the fans as definite All-Stars. The remaining 37 players will be selected by the NHL's Hockey Operations department, likely headed by Brendan Shanahan. That means that Giroux, even if he is not voted in by fans, would still be eligible for the game if chosen by the league.

But the fact that he didn't warrant enough consideration for the ballot isn't a good sign.

Two captains will then pick the squads, in true pick-up game fashion, to determine the sides.

You can read more about the in-depth format changes here. Fans can vote for forwards starting Monday through Nov. 29. Defensemen will be open for voting on Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 and goaltenders from Dec. 13 to Jan. 3.

The game will take place on Sun. Jan. 30 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, with the Super Skills competition on Sat. Jan. 29.

Giroux definitely belonged to be on the list of the NHL's top 100 players. The Flyers received 5 nominations, tied for second-most, behind only Chicago. Giroux was not alone in the questionable absence department: Washington's Alex Semin was left off, so was Chicago's Patrick Sharp.

What do you think?

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.

Here is a YouTube of Giroux highlights this season put together by a reader: