Of course, there will not be an NHL All-Star Game in 2025 as it was replaced by the 4 Nations Face-Off — a decision that was met with universal acclaim as soon as the puck was dropped. In all honesty, despite the constant adjustments and ideas to improve the product, the All-Star Game and accompanying Skills Competition just don’t match up. Understandably, the players’ urgency is never there, various drills have fallen flat, and most of the time, the individual personalities are not captivating enough to command attention.
However, the All-Star festivities have become an NHL staple and will remain that way until an annual replacement is potentially found. Although this year’s iteration was scrapped, the Carolina Hurricanes would have been guaranteed to have at least one player attend — and potentially multiple. Let’s take a look at the three Canes most worthy of an All-Star bid this season.
Mikko Rantanen
Had Martin Nečas still been a member of the Hurricanes, I would’ve had him first on this list — but because of his trade to the Colorado Avalanche, it doesn’t feel right to include him here anymore. As such, Mikko Rantanen takes his spot as arguably the most worthy of this nod, despite him doing most of his offensive damage with his former team.
His 64 points in 49 games with the Avs had him on pace for 107 points this season, which would have been his third consecutive campaign with triple-digit point production. If that isn’t worthy of an All-Star bid, I’m not really sure what is.
While his first six games with the Hurricanes haven’t quite seen the same level of offense — just three points in those seven appearances — there’s absolutely zero doubt that Rantanen is one of the NHL’s premier offensive wingers. He seems to be a bit snake-bitten right now, but that’s pretty much the epitome of being a Hurricane. Regardless, his 67 points currently have him seated at ninth in the NHL scoring race, so there is no denying that he deserves to be an All-Star.
Sebastian Aho
A three-time All-Star himself, there was a pretty strong chance that Sebastian Aho was on track to appear at his fourth All-Star Game. The 27-year-old is once again enjoying a successful offensive campaign, with 20 goals and 56 points in 56 games — averaging a point-per-game once again.
Despite appearing to have a bit of an inconsistent season thus far to the average Hurricanes watcher, there is no denying that Aho’s production and overall two-way impact put him amongst the elites in the NHL. The acquisition of his fellow countryman Rantanen should help him reach another level as well, as he’s undoubtedly the best winger Aho has had alongside him. There is little doubt that he will be at multiple All-Star events in the future.
Seth Jarvis
If you’re good enough to win a gold medal with Team Canada, you’re good enough to be an All-Star. That’s certainly the case for Seth Jarvis, whose rapid acceleration into stardom has made him a popular player in the NHL. Incredibly, he was cut from the Canadian World Juniors team in 2021 — fast-forward four years, he was a part of Canada’s top roster and could be on his way to the Olympic Games. In comparison, zero of the forwards that were selected for that World Junior Championship instead of Jarvis were named to the 4 Nations team. Talk about progression!
Related: 3 Underrated Hurricanes Players so Far in 2024-25
With 22 goals and 45 points in just 50 games this season, Jarvis has elevated his offense game to another level. He’s currently on pace for over 30 goals and 60 points in a primarily defensive system. There’s no denying that his impressive blend of pace, skill and sheer tenacity has seen him blossom into one of the premier young wingers in the league, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t just keep getting better.
Back From the Break
The Hurricanes returned from the 4 Nations lay-off with a 6-3 loss in Toronto to the Maple Leafs. They fell behind 4-0 in the first period and couldn’t recover, but will have a chance to redeem themselves on Tuesday night when they face the Canadiens in Montreal.
