The work of a captain is never done.
In Quinn Hughes's first season as captain of the Vancouver Canucks, he's helped lead his team to the top of the NHL standings. On the ice, Hughes has been a Hart Trophy-caliber player, leading all NHL defencemen in scoring with 53 points in 45 games while eating up big minutes in all situations. Off the ice, his level head and firm yet calm demeanour has helped keep the team even-keeled throughout this wild ride.
To no one's surprise, Hughes was the NHL's selection to the All-Star Game from the Canucks, though he'll be joined by four more teammates, who were voted in by the fans, and his head coach, Rick Tocchet.
But Hughes wasn't just selected to the All-Star Game by the NHL; as first reported by Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin, Hughes has been selected to be one of the team captains at the event. And he won't be alone.
Not only will Hughes be joined by his younger brother, Jack Hughes, as a co-captain, he'll also have a celebrity co-captain. In the case of Hughes, he'll be joined by Grammy and Juno Award-winning crooner — and Canucks superfan — Michael Bublé behind the bench.
The captains for the other three teams are Auston Matthews and Justin Bieber, Connor McDavid and Will Arnett, and Nathan MacKinnon and Tate McRae.
Bublé was born in Burnaby and was an avid Canucks fan right from a young age. He has even called himself a "failed Canadian hockey player" and said that if he was better at hockey, he never would have become a singer. Further proving his hockey bonafides, he's a co-owner of the Vancouver Giants.
Bublé is friends with several players on the team and frequently joins forces with them for various videos, like the time he and Elias Pettersson sang Christmas carols at Canuck Place during the COVID-19 pandemic or incorporating Brock Boeser's luscious golden locks into the 2018 Juno Awards after the winger's fantastic rookie season.
Now Bublé will join the Hughes brothers at the All-Star Game, where the three of them will have a significant responsibility: they have to select their team.
The NHL brought back the "fantasy draft" for this year's All-Star festivities in Toronto, which means the teams won't be split along divisional boundaries. The big question for Bublé and the Hughes brothers, at least with no other New Jersey Devils at the All-Star Game for Jack Hughes to lobby for, is which Canuck will they pick first?
They'll have several to choose from, as Pettersson, Boeser, J.T. Miller, and Thatcher Demko were all voted into the All-Star Game by the fans. Will they pick Pettersson, who will be participating in the NHL's revamped Skills Competition and has the flashy hands to rack up goals in the 3-on-3 tournament? Will they go with Boeser, who has already been an All-Star Game MVP?
Perhaps the best choice will be Miller, who might be hungrier to perform well in his first-ever All-Star Game appearance. He'd be a better choice than picking a goaltender in Demko given the All-Star Game is often defence-optional.
The choice may be partially taken out of the hands of Bublé and the Hughes brothers. After all, there's no guarantee that they pick first in the draft and the other captains might try to break up the Lotto Line and split the Canucks among all four teams at the tournament.
The drama will take place on February 1 at the draft, with the Skills Competition and 3-on-3 tournament to follow on February 2 and 3.
