Bo Horvat believes Elias Pettersson is the right player to succeed him as captain of the Vancouver Canucks.

"He'd be my vote if it came to it, and I'm sure one of these days, (the captain's 'C' is) going to go on his chest," Horvat said Thursday during media day for the 2023 All-Star Game, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "So, if it does, I couldn't be more happy for him, and he's obviously going to be a great captain."

Horvat and Pettersson had been teammates since the latter first entered the NHL in 2018-19. That run ended Monday when Vancouver traded Horvat to the New York Islanders in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a conditional 2023 first-round selection.

Horvat has liked the progress he's seen from Pettersson over the past five seasons.

"He's grown even more this year with his leadership on the ice," the 27-year-old said. "He's starting to say stuff in the room, and he's really come into his own this year.

"I can't say enough good stuff about Petey; the way he's played this year and the way he handles himself, and he's emerging as a great leader and a great player. And I'm sure he's going to take on a bigger role here, an even bigger role than he already has."

The Canucks named Horvat team captain in 2019.

Pettersson, 24, is enjoying a stellar campaign in what's been a tumultuous year for Vancouver. He leads the Canucks with 58 points in 47 games and is on pace for a career season.

The pair will play together one more time during the All-Star Game on Feb. 4. Horvat was initially voted into the event as a member of the Canucks and will remain on the Pacific Division roster while representing the Islanders.

Pettersson called the festivities their "last ride," according to The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton.

"What can I say? It's nothing I can control," Pettersson said of the trade. "Obviously, everybody thought things would play out differently, but (they didn't). Now you can just look ahead and not think of what could have happened."

Drafted fifth overall by the Canucks in 2017, Pettersson leads Vancouver with 279 points in 292 games since making his NHL debut on Oct. 3, 2018.

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The trade deadline is almost one month away, and pending unrestricted free-agent forward Dylan Larkin still doesn't have a shiny, brand-new extension with the Detroit Red Wings. However, the captain made his priorities clear ahead of his third All-Star appearance in Florida.

"I've said it all along, and I stand by it: I really see myself as a Red Wing. (But) there's contract negotiating to be done," he said in an interview with ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "This is my first time in this position as an unrestricted free agent. But I doubt contracts really ever go smoothly until they're done."

Larkin will meet with his agent Pat Brisson during this weekend's festivities to review all of his options, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported during Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Bo Horvat - another high-profile captain who can become a free agent in a few months - already came off the trade board earlier this week when the Vancouver Canucks dealt him to the New York Islanders in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a conditional 2023 first-round selection.

Horvat, who said he thought he'd be a Canuck for life, did his best to block out the off-ice noise about his future in Vancouver all season long.

Now, Larkin is in the same boat. The Detroit Free Press reported in late January that the Red Wings offered him an eight-year pact with an average annual value of $8 million.

"It just seems people are fishing and speculating," Larkin said Thursday. "I don't really want my business out there. I understand we're in the spotlight and fans want to know. They deserve to know.

"But I think it's not really the most truthful, you know? It's just speculation, and I don't really read into that too much."

The 26-year-old is playing out the final season of a five-year pact with a cap hit of $6.1 million. He will likely be due for a substantial raise as he leads Detroit with 43 points in 47 games this season.

But the ball is mainly in his court since his contract includes a full no-trade clause.

The Red Wings' 2014 15th overall pick has 162 goals and 239 assists in 551 career NHL games.

Detroit currently sits seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 21-19-8 record, seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

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While Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo will need to dust off his goalie equipment ahead of Friday's All-Star Skills Competition, his patented wit is in mid-season form.

"They asked me if I was interested and I don't know why I said yes," Luongo joked following Wednesday's All-Star alumni game, according to NHL.com's Corey Long. "I went on the ice yesterday for the first time and I still feel it in my legs, but it was fun to have the gear back on. After four years off I felt a lot better than I thought I would, so I'm really looking forward to Friday."

The 43-year-old participated in the alumni game as a forward, as he did in November for the HHOF Legends Classic. He will participate in the Breakaway Challenge at the skills competition as the "celebrity goaltender."

Luongo played in five All-Star Games during his 19-season NHL career (2004, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016). He was also named to the 2008 All-Star Game but did not play in the contest.

Luongo holds multiple franchise records with the hosting Florida Panthers, including most games played by a goaltender (572), most wins (230), and most shutouts (38). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in November.

The skills competition gets underway Friday at 7 pm EST.

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We have reached the All-Star break, which is looked at as an unofficial midway point of the season.

Perhaps more than any other major award, the Norris Trophy remains completely up for grabs. A handful of players have put together strong cases for the hardware but nobody is running away with it ~50 games into the year.

Let's take a look at where the market stands and how things have changed since prior to puck drop on the 2022-23 campaign.

Leading the group is Erik Karlsson, who is producing at the highest rate of his entire career at age 32. Karlsson is playing for a mediocre San Jose Sharks team that ranks 20th in scoring efficiency league-wide. He has managed to put up 16 goals and 66 points over 51 games; a 27-goal, 106-point pace. He leads all defensemen in Goals Above Replacement despite his defensive game being graded at a net-negative.

Hot on his tail is the pre-season favorite Cale Makar. He has been unseated through no fault of his own. Despite the Colorado Avalanche being crushed by injuries, Makar has averaged more than a point per game while driving play and logging more than 27 minutes of ice on a nightly basis. He has been a huge factor in keeping the Avalanche afloat.

Rounding out the big four are Adam Fox and Rasmus Dahlin. Fox is producing at a point-per-game clip and ranks second among NHL defensemen in average Game Score.

Meanwhile, Dahlin is producing at a 92-point clip and serving as Mr. Everything for a Buffalo Sabres side that finds itself in the thick of the wild card race.

Of the group, Karlsson might be most vulnerable of slipping. His defensive game has holes and he plays for a bad team that will only get worse when the likes of Timo Meier (likely) get shipped out. If his production falls off, he doesn't have a leg to stand on the way the others do.

With regards to longer shots, Dougie Hamilton is probably the guy carrying the most value. He is tied for third among blue-liners in goals, flirting with a point per game, and owns a +19 goal differential at five-on-five. This while playing big minutes against quality competition for a New Jersey Devils team that sits fourth in the league, a spot nobody predicted they'd hold this far into the season.

If he can raise his production just a hair in the second half, while Karlsson's perhaps falls off, his numbers figure to be every bit as good as the rest of his competition. The difference will be Hamilton is viewed as a super long shot in the market while you have to pay a premium to back the others.

After the +4000 range, things really fall off. Quinn Hughes plays for a tire fire in the Vancouver Canucks, Charlie McAvoy missed too much hockey, Victor Hedman is having a down season, and the others don't produce enough.

This looks like a five-horse race, with Hamilton being the most likely to jump in and make it six.

Buckle up; it's going to be a wild race to the finish.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will replace his injured teammate Tage Thompson at the 2023 All-Star Game, the NHL announced Thursday.

Thompson left Wednesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes early due to an upper-body injury. The 25-year-old was set to make his first appearance at an All-Star Game.

Dahlin represented the Sabres at last year's All-Star Game, the first of his career. Last week, he spoke about the lack of blue-liners at this year's event.

The 22-year-old has already set career-highs in goals (14), assists (41), and points (55) this season and ranks second league-wide in scoring among defensemen.

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