It was reported today that Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not attend the NHL All-Star weekend starting on Friday. As a result of this, his teammate Tom Wilson will take his place and Flyers captain Claude Giroux will slot in as the Metropolitan Division’s captain. This will also be his 7th All-Star nomination in his career.

Some All-Star news: The NHL announces that Claude Giroux replaces Alex Ovechkin (COVID-19) as Metropolitan Division captain this weekend in Las Vegas. Tom Wilson replaces Ovechkin on the Metro roster.

— Olivia Reiner (@ReinerOlivia) February 2, 2022

Giroux, who recently turned 34, is second on the Flyers in scoring with 35 points in 42 games. I’m happy to see G get some recognition here as he wont be able to chase that Olympics appearance he desires.

The NHL all-star weekend gets underway this Friday and it will be a two-day event with a skills competition on February 4th (7:30PM) and the all-star game on February 5th (3PM). The skills competition will be televised on ESPN while the all-star game will be on ABC/ESPN+.

In what may be the final season of the Giroux led Flyers, it’s nice to see Claude receive some sort of flowers in the national scope.

Mandatory Credit: NHL.com