Couture doesn’t get final call
Oilers’ Draisaitl, not Sharks center, secures final spot in ‘Last Men In’ voting
Sharks center Logan Couture was not selected by fans to be among the “Last Men In” at the NHL’s All-Star Weekend from Jan. 25-26 in San Jose.
Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl was voted onto the Pacific Division team, the league announced Friday, joining Sharks defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson and forward Joe Pavelski on the 11-player roster.
Other players voted in were Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner (Atlantic Division), Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog (Central) and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (Metropolitan). Logan Couture lost out in final voting to be an All-Star.
According to the NHL, more than 11.5 million votes were cast from Jan. 3-10, including a singleday high of more than two million votes on Thursday. Vote totals were not released by the league.
Couture was among eight “Last Men In” candidates from the Pacific Division, including Calgary’s Mark Giordano, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser and Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar.
Although the Sharks are the host team, it was probably going to be a longshot for Couture to get included in the festivities.
Entering Friday, Draisaitl is fourth among all Pacific Division skaters with 54 points. Couture is 10th with 42 points, which includes 16 goals. Pavelski is 14th in points among Pacific Division skaters with 38, but is third in goals with 25. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, both already on the team, each have 26 goals.
Couture’s one All-Star Game appearance came in 2012.
The NHL All-Star Skills competition takes place Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. on NBCSN and the All-Star Game — a 3-on-3 tournament between the four division teams — starts at 5 p.m. on NBC the following day.
The Sharks still have six games left before All-Star weekend. They host Ottawa today and Pittsburgh on Tuesday before they begin a four-game road trip from Jan. 16-22 that goes through Arizona, Tampa Bay, Florida and Washington.
The Sharks entered Friday with 59 points, one point back of Calgary for first place in the division.