Datsyuk, Howard Named to All-Star Teams; Lidstrom Embarrassingly Omitted

Updated:  See below for more information on the omission.

The Wings have two players heading to the great metatropolis of Ottawa for the 2012 NHL All Star game and it's not exactly who you'd expect. 

Added to the roster Thursday were five goaltenders, among them the Red Wings' Jimmy Howard, who leads the League in wins, and the Blues' Brian Elliott, who is second in the League in goals-against average and save percentage.

Other forwards added to the roster include Flames captain Jarome Iginla, who last week became the 42nd player in NHL history with 500 goals; Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who will play in his fifth All-Star Game; and the Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk, who was named to his third All-Star Game.

First off, congrats to Howard for finally getting some recognition for his efforts.  WIIM's and our efforts have clearly paid off.  And of course, congrats to Dangles for being, well, awesome. No real surprise here.  

Hit the jump for a huge, embarrassing omission.

But notice anyone missing, perhaps someone who defines humanity's future?  Yes, the great Nick Lidstrom (or Lindstrom as Gary knows him) is absent from the lineup.  WTF NHL?

Now this is probably due to the numbers situation regarding the fact that they try to make every team represented, yet I'm not sure if this argument make sense.  How does it really make any sense to forgo someone who is considered the best defensemen ever in the league?  Nashville has Weber AND Suter on the blueline. Does the NHL think that Alexander Edler is a better defensemen and representative of the game as compared to Nick? 

And yet, worst of all is the Dan Girardi pick. I'd take a 41 year old, blind in one eye, playing with the wrong handed stick while drunk Nick Lidstrom the over strokey-faced, second pairing on Detroit at best, Dan Girardi.  Hell, I'd take Lidstrom, White, Kronwall and Stuart over Girardi any day.  That 15 points, +7 is really impressive Dan, but that would put you 4th on the Wings in defensive scoring and 6th in defensive plus/minus...behind Johnny Ericsson. 

So while it's certainly not the end of the world and, in fact, the rest might do him well, you have to just wonder what the hell the league was thinking omitting what should be the best ambassador of the game and permanent owner of the Norris trophy. 

Update 2:04 PM: It appears that Nick asked for the weekend off, not that he wasn't simply selected.  Per Ken Holland:

"I talked to Lidstrom in the last month and Nick told me that although he would be honored to go, his preference would be to have a four-day breather with his family."

Certainly a little better, but that still doesn't explain how Girardi was selected...