Taking his rightful place in Toronto at the Scotiabank Arena, Travis Konecny will represent the Philadelphia Flyers (19-13-6) at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend.
This is the second time in his career that Konecny is an all-star. Previously, he was voted into and participated in the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
“I’m really excited. It’s an honor. I couldn’t do it without my teammates.”
Travis Konecny; 1/4/2024
Daniel Briere called Konecny to provide the great news. In Toronto, Konecny plans to have a lot of family in attendance. His hometown of London, Canada, is about two hours from Toronto.
2020 NHL All-Star
Konecny, 22, broke out in 2019-2020 as the Flyers, then coached by Alain Vigneault, broke into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
By the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend, Konecny tallied 43 points (17G, 26A) in 47 games. On special teams, his contribution was three goals on a powerplay ranked 14th.
In 2019-2020, Konecny tallied the most goals on the team and the second most assists but notched a team-leading 61 points in 66 games due to the pandemic-shortened season. He missed three games and paced ahead of Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, and Claude Giroux, who all played in all 69.
At the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend, Konecny on a staff of forwards featuring Mathew Barzal, Nico Hischier, Chris Kreider, and TJ Oshie. Konecny collected three points as the Metropolitan Division lost to the Atlantic Division in the first round, 9-5. His three points match previous performances by Wayne Simmonds (2017) and Giroux (2015) but are second to Voracek (2015). In addition to his game performance, Konecny participated in the ‘fastest skater’ competition, placing seventh ahead of only Quinn Hughes.
2023 All-Star Snub
Kevin Hayes represented Philadelphia at the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend in Sunrise. Hayes was a great story last season, and Hayes admitted he was shocked when he received the call from Chuck Fletcher.
When the announcement was made, it was easy to be happy for Hayes, but it also begged the question, ‘why not Konecny?’
Hayes registered 45 points (15G, 30A) in 50 games before the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend. This happened when Hayes began playing LW because John Tortorella trusted Noah Cates with defensive duties. Due to that explanation from Tortorella leading to a diminished role for Hayes and the unsurprising trade in the offseason to the St. Louis Blues, Hayes generally was a curious option to represent the Flyers at the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Comparably, Konecny played in 45 games, striking for 49 points (24G, 25A) before the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend. Instead of only contributing to the powerplay, Tortorella deployed Konecny on the penalty kill, another role Hayes once had. Ironically, both skaters were benched simultaneously, but without any hesitation, Tortorella learned to trust in Konecny instead of Hayes during an all-star season.
If we’re being honest, the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend shouldn’t be the second for Konecny. It should be the third. The answer to ‘why not Konecny’ isn’t hockey-related; Hayes was a great story in 2022-2023 to represent the Flyers.
“It’s a cool situation for me because, not to get emotional, it’s probably the only thing my brother [Jimmy], since he stopped playing hockey, wanted me to accomplish. I never honestly thought it would happen. It did, and it’s cool.”
Kevin Hayes; 1/5/2023
2024 NHL All-Star
This season, Konecny, 26, is primed for new career highs. Tortorella unlocked more potential out of Konecny from the last time he was an all-star. Back then, Konecny didn’t kill penalties. He didn’t begin to kill penalties until Tortorella and Brad Shaw.
Last season, 50 games came and went before the NHL All-Star Weekend. In 38 games thus far, Konecny compiled 35 points (20G, 15A). Konecny is projected to approach 46 points before the 2024 All-Star Weekend. His pace is similar to his point production leading to his 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend appearance. His standout work is on the penalty kill, contributing four shorthanded goals on an elite unit (2nd) in the NHL.
Overall, Konecny ranks 10th in the NHL in goal scoring (20), 12th in even-strength goal scoring, and second in shorthanded goal scoring. The correct skater will represent Philadelphia in Toronto at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
