Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was named to the Central Division roster for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, the league announced today. He was selected to his seventh straight All-Star Game, trailing only Joe Sakic, who was selected a total of eight straight times for the most consecutive All-Star Game selections in franchise history. The 2024 event will occur at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, February 3.
The NHL Department of Hockey Operations selected one player per NHL team in each division (including one goalie), making up the initial eight-man rosters for each division. The three remaining players per division will be selected as part of the 2024 All-Star Fan Vote. The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend will be expanded to a three-day event. In addition to the NHL All-Star Skills on Friday, February 2, and the Rogers NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, February 3, the All-Star Weekend will introduce “NHL All-Star Thursday” on February 1.
MacKinnon, 28, joins Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg as the only players in Avalanche/Nordiques history to be named to an All-Star Game seven times with the franchise. MacKinnon has been selected every season since 2016-17, other than 2020-21, when there was no event. He served as the captain of the Central Division for three straight All-Star games from 2019-22 but missed the 2019 and 2022 events due to injury.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native enters the voting ranking among NHL leaders in assists at 41, 1st first in the league, points (61, 2nd), even-strength points (36, 1st), power-play points (25, 2nd), goals (20, 9th), multi-point games (20, 1st) and shots (169, 3rd). On December 21 vs. Ottawa, MacKinnon became the first player in Avalanche history (since relocation) to score four goals in a game, which included his 300th career marker in the match. He also reached 500 career assists on December 5 vs. Anaheim and 800 career points on December 13 vs. Buffalo.
The 6-foot, 200-pound center registered a 19-game point streak from November 20 through December 27, good for a share of the third-longest point streak in franchise history. After being tied for 21st in the NHL in scoring when the streak first began, MacKinnon rang up 36 points in that span to propel him to second in league scoring on January 4. MacKinnon also carries a 20-game season-opening home point streak into Saturday’s contest, currently tied for the fifth-longest streak in NHL history.
MacKinnon was named the NHL’s First Star of the Month for December after he posted 29 points to break the franchise record for most points in a calendar month. The December performance capped a 2023 calendar year where he led all NHL skaters with 135 points, the most points by an Avalanche/Nordiques player in one calendar year. Peter Stastny previously held the mark with 130 in 1981. MacKinnon was also named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for Dec. 11-17 after logging 3g/7a in the four-game span. It was the 11th time he’s been awarded an NHL Star of the Week.
The first overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon is a three-time finalist for the Hart Trophy. He won the 2020 Lady Byng Award and 2014 Calder Trophy and finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting last season.
Now in his 11th NHL season, MacKinnon has tallied 820 points (304g/516a) in 747 career regular-season games, ranking fourth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list. He is one of four players in Avalanche/Nordiques history to rank in the top 5 of goals, assists, and points with the franchise (Joe Sakic, Michel Goulet, and Peter Stastny).
In 2022-23, MacKinnon finished fifth in the NHL with a career-high 111 points (42g/69a) in 71 games, also setting personal bests in goals and assists. His 71 games marked the fewest by a player who finished among the League’s top-5 scorers since Jaromir Jagr in 2001-02. MacKinnon’s 111 points were also the fourth-highest single-season total in Avalanche team history.
ITR 37: Round Two – Inside The Rink
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