For the second straight year, the NHL All-Star Game will be a three-game, three-on-three tournament between the League's four divisions. Each division's captain will be chosen by the fans via the 2017 NHL All-Star Fan Vote. Simmonds, who is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals with 16, has received the Metropolitan Division's fourth-most votes as of the most recent vote count, which was released Tuesday.
Simmonds trails Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby, who
rank third and first
respectively, and second-place Alexander Ovechkin, a forward for the Washington Capitals who was voted as Metropolitan Division captain last year.
The All-Star Game will be Jan. 29 at Staples Center, where Simmonds played his first three NHL seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Simmonds has not been selected for the All-Star game in his nine-season career but is on pace for 36 goals, which would top the career-high he set last season (32).
"I'm getting a lot of votes from the fans, so I definitely appreciate that,"
Simmonds told the Courier-Post
. "I don't know if I deserve to be up there with Sidney Crosby, but it's pretty cool to see."
Fan voting runs until 11:59 p.m.
EST on Jan. 2, and fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The Flyers have definitely laid the gauntlet for promotional videos.
