The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend officially drops today!
While the skills competition and games don’t get underway until tomorrow, it’s today at the Scotiabank Arena that we’ll get to see the Women’s Hockey Showcase and the NHL All-Star Player Draft.
Here’s your guide to everything happening from February 1-4 at the NHL All-Star Weekend, including the events, players, and celebrities involved this year.
When and Where is the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend?
The NHL All-Star Weekend runs from Thursday, February 1, to Sunday, February 4, with each day offering a new stack of events to enjoy. It’s taking place at the Scotiabank Arena on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto.
On February 1, we’ll see the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft decide which players will compete for each of the four All-Star teams, departing from what was once a division-decided method of creating All-Star rosters.
Following that, we’ll see the NHL Alumni Man of the Year award as well as the Professional Women’s Hockey League 3-on-3 Showcase.
The following day, February 2, the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills event gets underway. This year, 12 stars will compete across eight events, with the one who collects the most points winning $1 million!
Saturday plays host to the main event, the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. It’s still a three-game format, going from semi-finals to a final in knockout style, and played as 3-on-3 hockey.
Sunday, February 4, marks the final day of the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend and the fourth day of the NHL Fan Fair, which is loaded with interactive games, mascots, and other great activities to enjoy.
What Players are Going to the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend?
Following the league’s selection, a fan vote, and three changes due to injury, the 2024 NHL All-Stars have been locked in, but the draft to determine the teams that each player will play for was yet to take place at the time of writing.
The injury replacements for the All-Star weekend were Kyle Connor, Vincent Trocheck, and Jesper Bratt coming in for Connor Bedard, Jack Eichel, and Jack Hughes.
What has been decided are the celebrity captains for each team and their captain and assistant captain skaters.
Team Matthews will feature Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs being led out by Justin Bieber.
Team Hughes is currently comprised of just Quinn Hughes, as Jack Hughes has been unable to suit up for the weekend. The Canucks defenseman will be joined by Michael Bublé on the bench.
Team MacKinnon will be built on two Colorado Avalanche stars, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, with the celebrity captain being Tate McRae.
Finally, Team McDavid gets Will Arnett as its celebrity captain and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from the Edmonton Oilers as its starting duo.
Based on the NHL odds for the outright winners right now, it looks like Team McDavid enters with the best starting duo, as the Oilers are leading the way at +700 to lift the Stanley Cup.
Which Players Will Compete in the All-Star Skills Competition?
The All-Star Skills Competition will take on a new format this year. Instead of a bunch of players competing in their preferred discipline, each will compete in multiple events for a shot at the $1 million prize.
Were sport betting to come into play, you’d have to imagine that McDavid, Matthews, and MacKinnon would open the odds as the favourites.
Here’s the full list of all of the players participating in the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition:
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Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders)
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Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
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Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks)
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Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning)
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Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche)
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Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
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Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs)
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Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
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J.T. Miller (Vancouver Canucks)
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William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs)
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David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins)
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Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks)
In Round 1, we’ll see the Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Stick Handling, One-Timer, Passing, and Shooting Accuracy events, followed by the One-on-One contests against All-Star goalies in Round 2, and then the double-points Obstacle Course finale.
Skaters have to compete in four competitions in Round 1, with the top-eight point scorers going on to Round 2. For Round 3, only the leading six skaters will get a shot at the Obstacle Course.
While the NHL takes a break, all eyes turn to Toronto to see which All-Star team will come out on top and which superstar skater will take home an extra $1 million!
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
