Leafs’ Matthews, Oilers’ McDavid among captains for NHL’s all-star weekend

Star centres Connor McDavid of Edmonton Oilers and Auston Matthews of Toronto Maple Leafs will be two of the four team captains during the NHL’s all-star weekend next month in San Jose.

McDavid (Pacific Division), Matthews (Atlantic), Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon (Central) and Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) won fan votes to earn the captaincies and the first-roster spots for the Jan. 25-26 event.

California-born Matthews will make his third all-star appearance and first as captain, while McDavid, of Newmarket, Ont., will captain the Pacific Division for the third time in as many appearances.

MacKinnon, of Halifax, is heading to all-star weekend for the third time, while Ovechkin makes his eighth appearance.

The rest of the all-stars will be determined by the NHL’s hockey operations department.

The head coach of the team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions at the halfway point of the regular season will guide the respective all-star rosters.

All-star weekend will feature a three-game tournament in a 3-on-3 format.