What does it say about Vanek that he is not an All-Star?

I know All-Star selections are meaningless when it comes to conference standings but don't the people who choose the team have some insight into who the elite players are in the NHL? After the fans pick the first six spots, the NHL Hockey Operations Department picks the rest of the all-star roster. That's people like Rob Blake and Brendan Shanahan making the decisions, and they consult the rest of the league's General Managers who are paid very well to be very good at assessing the talent levels of NHL players.

Vanek is certainly paid to be an All-Star. The All-Star game has a roster of 42 NHL players (more if you include the injured players that had to be replaced by alternates) and Thomas Vanek has the 13th highest cap hit in the league. Vanek can brush off the suggestion that he should be disappointed not to have the opportunity to play in the all-star game, but he should not poo-poo the notion that he should be there based on salary.

Vanek has an offense-focused game that you would expect to get recognition from the people assembling the All-Star roster. He has great puck skills and has demonstrated that he can dazzle with his dekes. It could be that a lack of defensive responsibility kept him off the All-Star roster in the eyes of the Operations Department, but that would not be the most market-friendly reasoning when it comes to attracting the elusive casual fan.

The best spin on Vanek's absence from Ottawa is that he was slightly injured and he asked not to be obligated to make an appearance because he wants to focus on rejuvenating himself for a stretch run like Selanne and Lidstrom. You could argue he is more focused on winning on a Stanley Cup than on public relations events, but that line of reasoning does not make as much sense when Vanek's team is circling the toilet this season.

By not picking Vanek for the All-Star game, the NHL Hockey Operations Department are overlooking someone who was tied for 31st in points and 20th in goals. The most likely explanation is that the Sabres have been ugly this year so it wasn't reasonable to pick more than one Buffalo player and Pominville's 47 points pushed him ahead of Vanek's 41 points even though Pominville's game is more workmanlike and less aesthetically pleasing. (No one ever bought a ticket because they wanted to see Pominville carry the puck end-to-end.)