Rantanen and MacKinnon Voted to NHL All-Star Game

Colorado Avalanche forwards Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon have been selected to participate in the 2023 Honda NHL® All-Star Game, it was announced today following the All-Star Fan Vote, presented by Guaranteed Rate. Rantanen and MacKinnon were voted as two of the remaining three players for the Central Division and will join teammate Cale Makar at the 2023 Honda NHL® All-Star Weekend Feb. 3-4 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

Under a new format, the NHL department of hockey operations selected one player per NHL team in each division (including one goalie), making up the initial eight-man rosters for each division. The three remaining players per division (two skaters, one goalie), were selected as part of the 2023 All-Star Fan Vote presented by Guaranteed Rate.
Rantanen, 26, will be making his second appearance in the NHL All-Star Game after being selected to participate during the 2018-19 season. Colorado's first-round pick (10th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen leads the Avalanche and ranks fourth in the league in goals (31), while his 26 even-strength tallies pace all league skaters. Rantanen reached the 30-goal mark in his 43rd game of the season on Wednesday, the fastest player to reach 30 goals in Avalanche history, topping Joe Sakic, who did it in 44 contests in 1995-96. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right wing reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his career and for a third straight season, equaling the longest streak in Colorado history and tied for the third longest in franchise history.
Rantanen also leads Colorado with 56 points and is the team's leader in average ice time (22:55) among forwards. Rantanen has scored five game-winning goals in 2022-23, tops on the team and tied for fifth in the NHL. Two of his winning tallies have come in overtime, the most he has recorded in a season in his career and tied for first in the league.
Rantanen scored 29 goals in Colorado's first 41 games, the most by an Avalanche player at the halfway point of a season. Earlier in the campaign, he was the first player in Avalanche history to reach the 20-goal mark in fewer than 30 team games, accomplishing the feat in 28 contests on Dec. 15 vs. Buffalo.
The Nousiainen, Finland, native has recorded two hat tricks this season, his first coming in his home country during the NHL's Global Series on Nov. 4 against Columbus. He picked up his fifth career hat trick, including the tying score with 8.1 seconds left in regulation and the overtime winner, on Dec. 11 at St. Louis. Rantanen was just the second Avalanche player to complete a hat trick with an overtime goal, joining Valeri Kamensky on Jan 3, 1998 at Pittsburgh.
Rantanen was named the NHL's First Star of the Week for Nov. 7-13 after recording seven points (3g/4a) over two games against the Nashville Predators and the Carolina Hurricanes. Rantanen scored 11 goals in the month of December, the second most of his career in a single month (13 in March 2021) and the most ever by an Avalanche player in December since the franchise relocated.
Now in his seventh full NHL season, Rantanen has totaled 464 points (196g/268a) in 451 career regular-season games and added 77 points (23g/54a) in 63 postseason contests. In 2021-22, he led the Avalanche with a career-high 36 goals and 92 points, the third-highest point total by a right wing in franchise history, trailing only Milan Hejduk (98) in 2002-03 and Real Cloutier (97) in 1981-82. In the playoffs, Rantanen finished second on the team and fifth in the NHL with 25 points (5g/20a) in 20 games to help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.
MacKinnon, 27, has been selected to participate in the NHL All-Star Game for the sixth straight season (there was no event in 2020-21), the first Avalanche player to be selected to six consecutive All-Star Games since Peter Forsberg was chosen to six straight from 1995-96 to 2000-01. MacKinnon's run is tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history, as he joins Michel Goulet (six, 1982-83 to 1987-88) and Peter Forsberg (six, 1995-96 to 2000-01) behind Joe Sakic, who was selected to eight consecutive All-Star appearances from 1989-90 to 1997-98. He has served as captain of the Central Division for the past three All-Star Games, but did not participate in 2019 or 2022 due to injury.
MacKinnon leads the Avalanche in assists (36) and plus/minus (+17) and is second in points (49). On Jan. 10, he scored his 253rd career goal to pass Anton Stastny (252) for fifth place on the franchise's all-time goal-scoring list. With 41 postseason goals, MacKinnon is four shy of 300 combined regular season/playoff tallies.
The 6-foot, 200-pound center, who missed 11 games from Dec. 7-29 due to injury, ranks third in the league with 1.53 points-per-game, the highest points-per-game average of his career.
MacKinnon recorded seven assists in Colorado's sweep over the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL's Global Series in Tampere, Finland on Nov. 4-5. His four assists in the first Global Series contest on Nov. 4 tied his career high and was the most ever in a game played overseas. MacKinnon was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6 for his performance in those two outings.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native opened the season with three straight multi-point games, the first player to accomplish the feat since Valeri Kamensky in 1995-96. MacKinnon currently has multiple points in four consecutive contests and has collected 13 points (4g/9a) over a six-game point streak.
The first overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon is a three-time finalist for the Hart Trophy (2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21). He won the 2020 Lady Byng Award and 2014 Calder Trophy and was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in both 2017-18 and 2019-20.
Now in his 10th NHL season, MacKinnon has tallied 697 points (255g/442a) in 670 career regular-season games, ranking sixth on the franchise's all-time scoring list. He ranks fifth in goals and assists, sixth in power-play tallies (75), fourth in game-winning goals (46) and is tied for first in overtime goals (9).
In 2021-22, MacKinnon finished second on the Avalanche with 88 points (32g/56a) in 65 games, marking his fourth career 30-goal season. In the playoffs, MacKinnon tied for the league lead with 13 goals to help the Avalanche capture the Stanley Cup.
The 2023 NHL All-Star Skills™ presented by DraftKings Sportsbook will take place on Friday, Feb. 3, followed by the 2023 Honda NHL® All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 4.