Ovechkin an All-Star, Green is not

The Eastern Conference All-Star list has been released. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Alex Ovechkin is on it. Mildly surprising is the omission of Mike Green from the list, considering his goal scoring tear this year and the league's preference for offense in their talent showcase.

Then again, Green is still eligible for the young stars game (since he's in the last year of his entry level deal). So chances are Greener will probably still get an invite to Atlanta in some capacity. Maybe he and Nicklas Backstrom can get Ovechkin to spring for their bus fare. Something tells me he's got the cash for it.

Young Stars game tonight

Tonight, Mike Green will help kick off the All-Star festivities by playing one game with the Pittsburgh Flightless Devil.... er, Eastern Conference young stars squad. I would complain about how Pittsburgh has the most players on the squad, but hey, that's what happens when you draft in the top five 700 years in a row. Not that I'm not happy for Greener (I am) or that I feel he shouldn't be recognized as one of the finest young talents in the league (I do), it's just that I was really hoping he would rest his injured foot during the break and be 100% healthy when the Caps make their run at the playoffs after the break is over.

Folks will argue that Green won't be pushing that hard for an all star event, and that the chance of injury is minimal. Very true. But having Greenie play at all on an injured foot certainly won't speed his recovery.

I'd feel a little less strongly about this if I didn't think we'd be seeing a lot more of Green in All-Star festivities in the future. If he was just having an out of this world season for an average defenseman I'd be all for him going. But Mike Green is going to be a perennial All-Star in the NHL. He has all the tools (physical and mental) to be the next Scott Neidermayer. If the Caps can get a hulking defenseman to play with him and release him for more offensive forays (like Scott Stevens did for Neidermayer), he'll get All-Star consideration every single year.

I know any recognition for a developing young star should be appreciated, but given Green's talent and how much the team needs him to be healthy after the break, I wish he'd have skipped this one.