Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen celebrates with John Tavares, left, and Auston Matthews after defeating the New York Rangers on Dec. 22, 2018.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews will be two of the four team captains for the NHL all-star weekend next month in San Jose.
McDavid (Pacific Division), Matthews (Atlantic), Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon (Central) and Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) won fan votes to earn the captaincies and the first roster spots for the event, Jan. 25-26.
Matthews will make his third all-star appearance and first as captain, while McDavid, of Newmarket, Ont., will captain the Pacific Division for the third time in as many appearances.
MacKinnon, of Halifax, is heading to all-star weekend for the third time, while Ovechkin makes his eighth appearance.
The rest of the all-stars will be determined by the NHL’s hockey operations department.
The head coach of the team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions at the halfway point of the regular season will guide the respective all-star rosters.
All-star weekend will feature a three-game tournament in a 3-on-3 format.