NHL 21 Team of the Year Nominees Revealed With Several Notable Snubs
Most of the best players in hockey have been unveiled as the NHL 21 Team of the Year nominees have arrived! We say most as there are several noticeable snubs within the 36 players who received nominations. Among the standouts who are in the nominees are cover star Alex Ovechkin, all-time great Sidney Crosby, and the league’s points leader, Leon Draisaitl.
Official NHL 21 Team of the Year Nominees arrive
The tradition continues in 2021, as each year the EA Sports NHL title names six players to their Team of the Year. That’s three forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie who will become voted as the best for the past year. EA Sports NHL Twitter rolled out the official trailer for their new annual tradition on Monday, December 27.
They revealed the 36 nominees in a separate post with many of the best represented. Alex Ovechkin was this game’s cover star so he may get the nod, and stats leaders Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak could join him. However, there are two glaring omissions from the list of nominees.
EA Sports will select six players from the list of nominees above. Those players will receive special limited-edition items in real life as an award for making NHL 21 Team of the Year. Meanwhile, NHL 21 Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) will also receive special upgraded player items and new content as part of the TOTY promotion.
McDavid, Eichel considered notable snubs
Many fans are pointing out that EA’s NHL 21 missed the boat in terms of putting all-star talents Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel on the nominees. McDavid was second in assists (63) and points (97) to Draisatl. Eichel was 10th overall in points with a solid balance of goals and assists. So their bodies of work seem to have been overlooked with the above nominees.
McDavid made it onto last year’s Team of the Year lineup, making his omission this year even more curious. For the NHL 20 TOTY, McDavid was joined on the frontline by Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov. Will two of the three players repeat in making the NHL 21 Team of the Year?
On defense were Brent Burns and John Carlson, with Jordan Binnington as the goalkeeper. McDavid and Kucherov received 95 OVR cards for TOTY, while Ovechkin got a 94 OVR. Burns received a 93, with Carlson getting a 90 and Binnington an 89 upgrade.
Other players that fans have brought up as snubs for this year’s nominees include Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the Vancouver Canucks’ JT Miller, and Boston Bruins’ LW Brad Marchand.
See the full list of NHL 21 Team of the Year nominees at EA’s website here.
For more updates on the game, visit our NHL news page here.