The

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

All-Star teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position. Representatives of the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey sports journalism, journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 vot ...

vote for the all-star team at the end of the regular season. The career leader in selections is

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

, named to a total of 21 all-star teams (12 first, 9 second), all with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

. Alexander Ovechkin is the only player in history to be named to both all-star teams in the same season (as a left and right winger respectively) because of a voting error.Alex Ovechkin named to NHL's 1st, 2nd All-Star teams
/ref> The career leader for selections as a player without being inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

John LeClair John Clark LeClair (born July 5, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. With the Flyers, LeC ...

, who was named to a total of 5 all-star teams (2 first, 3 second).