In all reality, Dylan Larkin was always a longshot to win the Last Men In Vote in the Atlantic Division. His counterparts were all a step or two ahead of him in terms of production.
And the ballots reflected that, with Buffalo's Jeff Skinner garnering the most votes to head to the All-Star Game in San Jose later this month.
Skinner is tied for second in the NHL with 29 goals for a Sabres team that has climbed the ladder in the Eastern Conference. Larkin is having a career-year, leading the Red Wings with 18 goals and 41 points, but he had the fewest point per game of any of the eight nominees in the Last Men In Vote from the Atlantic.
The other candidates were Tampa Bay's Brayden Point, Boston's Patrice Bergeron, Florida's Aleksander Barkov, Montreal's Shea Weber, Ottawa's Mark Stone and Toronto's Morgan Rielly. The fans voted in one player from each division after the NHL selected the bulk of the All-Star Game rosters. (Fans also voted for the captain of each division.)
The other winners were Pittsburgh's Kris Letang, Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl.
Jimmy Howard will be the Red Wings' lone representative in San Jose.
The All-Star Game will be held Jan. 26, with the skills competition coming the day before.