If you haven't noticed yet, the National Hockey League has opened the polls to vote for the players in the 2011 All-Star Game. On the ballot, representing the New York Rangers are Marian Gaborik, Marc Staal and Henrik Lundqvist. However, you are not limited to just those players. They allow you to type in the name of any player you would like, whether or not they are listed on the official ballot.
In order to vote, just follow this link to the NHL's website and plug in the six players you would like to see in Raleigh, North Carolina during the game this year. I happened to submit votes for Gaborik, Callahan, Dubinsky, Staal, Girardi and Lundqvist. I actually would prefer Gaborik not be in it for the sake of his health, but how can I not vote for the guy being a Ranger fan? Let us know in the comments section of this post which Rangers you voted for and you will be entered into our contest to win a free official All-Star Game player tee this January!
Anyway, the league is doing it a bit differently this year, as you probably already know. Two captains will be chosen and they will draft their teams out of a pool of all-stars. It is no longer Eastern Conference versus Western Conference as it has been for so many years. I think it would be unfair to judge the new format just yet, so I will wait until it actually happens to determine if it worked well or not. I think it will be interesting to see the best of the East and West combine to play on the same teams for once.
The Rangers Tribune will actually be attending the 2011 All-Star Game in Carolina, so obviously we would like to see as many Rangers as possible in the lineups. Because of this, we would greatly appreciate if you would take the time to submit your votes for Ranger players and for those that do, we want to reward you. After you vote (you are not limited to the amount of times in which you can), let us know in the comments section of this post which Rangers you voted for and you will be entered into our contest to win a free official All-Star Game player tee this January!