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2018 NBA All-Star Game. Team LeBron 148, Team Stephen 145. 2020 NHL All-Star Game Tickets. The 2020 All-Star Game will be held at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on January 26th, 2020. The best players in the NHL will be in St. Louis all weekend for the activities including the All-Star Game and Skills competition.The St. Louis Blues will host 2020 All-Star Weekend which is January 24-26, 2020. This is the 3rd time the Blues have hosted the NHL All. View the full schedule of all 30 teams in the National Hockey League.

Are You a Stathead? Every day, we'll send you an email to your inbox with scores, today's schedule, top performers, new debuts and interesting tidbits. NHL All-Star Game Ticket Information. NHL All-Star Game hockey tickets are now available, and that means that you have the opportunity to see all your favorite NHL players in person! When you buy NHL All Star Game tickets, you will see a great game with the best players in.

An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the 'stars') of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, but sometimes dividing the players by an attribute such as nationality. Selection of the players may be done by a vote of the coaches and/or news media; in professional leagues, fans may vote on some or all of the roster. An all-star game usually occurs at the midpoint of the regular season. An exception is American football's Pro Bowl, which occurs at the end of the season.

All-star games are usually organized like regular games, but are often played with less emphasis on victory. Competing goals are to give many players time in the game and to avoid injury. In ice hockey, for example, there is no serious checking, while in American football no blitzing is allowed. In basketball, there is virtually no defense played until the final quarter. However, the Australian State of Origin series does involve physicality that often leads to on-field scuffles.

The current format of the NHLAll-Star Game differs significantly from that of normal league games. Instead of a single game, the event is organized as a four-team knockout tournament, with each team representing one of the league's divisions. Additionally, each game within the event is contested as a single 20-minute period, making the playing time of the All-Star Game identical to that of a regulation NHL game. The most radical difference is the on-ice team composition—instead of five skaters and one goaltender at full strength, each team has three skaters and a goaltender. Due to the reduced team sizes, penalties that normally cause the penalized team to lose a skater instead give the non-penalized team an extra skater.

The term 'all-star' is mainly used in North America. All-star games are rare in international sports (such as association football) where games between national teams are more popular than all-star games would be. In the United Kingdom, all-star teams are usually denoted with the Roman numeral corresponding to the number of players allowed on the field – for example, a soccer or cricketXI, a rugby leagueXIII and a rugby unionXV.^{[citation needed]}

Major League Baseball organized the first professional league all-star game as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. It was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for The Chicago Tribune.^[1] Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in playing the game annually. Ward's contribution was recognized by Major League Baseball in 1962 with the creation of the 'Arch Ward Trophy', given to the All-Star Game's most valuable player each year.^[2]

• 1Professional all-star games
  • 1.1North America
  • 1.2Other regions

Professional all-star games[edit]

North America[edit]

Major leagues[edit]

• Major League Baseball All-Star Game (National League vs. American League)
• National Basketball Association All-Star Game
  • The game has had two formats throughout its history:
    • The original format used from the first game in 1951 until 2017 pitted Eastern Conference and Western Conference all-star teams.
    • Since 2018, it has followed a fantasy draft format, similar to the 2011–2015 format of the NHL All-Star Game (see below), involving the selection of players by a combination of fan, player, and media voting. The vote leaders for each conferences are then named as team captains for each all-star team, who then select players from the rest of the all-stars, regardless of the conference they play in.
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
  • The game has had a number of formats throughout its history:
    • The original format, used from 1947 through 1968 with two exceptions, saw the previous season's Stanley Cup champions take on an 'All-Star' team made up of the First and Second NHL All-Star Teams plus other star players.
    • In 1951 and 1952, the competing teams were the First NHL All-Star Team, supplemented with stars from the league's American franchises, and the Second NHL All-Star Team, supplemented with stars from Canadian franchises.
    • Beginning in 1969 and continuing through 2009, with some exceptions, the format was geographic—most recently Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference.
    • For 1979 and 1987, a single team comprising the NHL's best players faced the Soviet national ice hockey team in a two-game series.
    • From 1998 through 2002, the teams were divided by player nationality, with a 'North America' team made up of Canadians and Americans and a 'World' team drawn from the rest of the world.
    • In 2006, 2010 and 2014, the league did not hold an all-star game, instead releasing its players to play ice hockey at the Olympic Games. The league held an all-star game in addition to releasing its players for the Olympics in 1998 and 2002.
    • Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout cancelling the entire season, the All-Star Game was not held in 2005. In 2013, the league did not hold an all-star game as well, as it omitted from the schedule because of the shortened season caused by the player lockout.
    • From 2011 to 2015, a fantasy draft took place that involved the selection of 42 players—six in fan voting, and the other 36 by the league. The selected players then chose two of these individuals as team captains.
    • From 2016 onward, the 'All-Star Game' consists of a mini-tournament where teams representing the league's divisions compete against each other in abbreviated games lasting only 20 minutes (instead of the three 20-minute periods of normal NHL games).
• National Football League Pro Bowl
  • From 1938 to 1942, the NFL held an all-star game with the winner of that year's NFL Championship Game against an all-star team composed of players from the other teams (and, at least once, teams outside the NFL).
  • From 1951 to 2013, the Pro Bowl followed an inter-conference format (Eastern vs. Western from 1951 to 1969 and American Football Conference vs. National Football Conference since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970). The AFC vs NFC format was restored in 2017.
  • From 2014 to 2016 it followed a draft format, similar to the 2011–2015 format of the NHL All-Star Game (see above).

Note: In professional American football, the term 'all-star game' can also refer to the American Football League All-Star game, played from 1961 to 1969; or the College All-Star Game, played from 1934 to 1976.

• Major League Soccer All-Star Game
  • The game has had several formats throughout its history:
    • Originally, the game pitted Eastern Conference and Western Conference all-star teams. This format was used for all games save one from 1996 through 2001, and also in 2004.
    • The 1998 game pitted an 'MLS USA' team, consisting entirely of Americans, against an 'MLS World' team drawn from all other nationalities.
    • The 2002 game matched an MLS all-star team against the US national team.
    • The 2003 game was the first in which an MLS all-star team played a visiting foreign club team. This format has been used ever since, with the exception of 2004. In the 2003 game, the visiting team was from Mexico; since 2005, the visiting team is based in Europe.
• Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (Race winners from previous and current season, as well as Cup champions and All-Star Race winners from the previous 10 seasons)
• WNBA All-Star Game (usually Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference)
  • In 2004 and 2010, the East-West format was not followed; instead, the USA national team faced a team of WNBA all-stars. The league does not consider these games to be official All-Star Games.
  • From 2008 forward, no All-Star Game has been played in any Olympic year.
  • Since 2018, the All-Star Game has used a draft format similar to that used by the NHL in the 2011–2015 period. In the WNBA's implementation, fan voting determines the two team captains (though in the first game under the current format, Maya Moore declined the captain's role).

Minor leagues[edit]

• Legends Football LeagueAll-Fantasy Game (Eastern vs Western)
• Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game (Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference)
• National Lacrosse League All-Star Game (East Division vs. West Division)
• Major Indoor Soccer League All-Star Game (Format varies)
• Women's Professional Soccer All-Star Game
  • In the three years of the league's existence, two different formats were used.
    • The first game in 2009, which took place after the season, employed a format similar to that of recent MLS All-Star Games, with a team of WPS all-stars taking on a visiting foreign club team (specifically Umeå IK of Sweden).
    • The 2010 edition took place at midseason. Of the 36 players, 22 were selected through a voting process, and the other 14 were selected by the league. The top vote-getters among U.S. and international players, respectively Abby Wambach and Marta, were named captains. They picked their first 10 teammates from the remaining 20 All-Stars selected through the voting process, with the league then filling out each roster.
    • No All-Star Game was held in 2011, which turned out to be the league's final season, because the season ran up against the Women's World Cup.
  • The successor to WPS, the National Women's Soccer League (2013–present), has never held an all-star game.
• Triple-A All-Star Game (Baseball; International League vs. Pacific Coast League)
• Double-A All-Star Game (Baseball; players from American League-affiliated teams vs. players from National League-affiliated teams)
• AIFA Kickoff Classic (American Indoor Football Association All-Stars vs. expansion team)

Former events[edit]

• East–West All-Star Game (1933–1962, pairing teams of Negro league baseball players)
• Marlboro Challenge (1987–1992, CART series winners from the current and previous seasons)
• CFL All-Star Game (various years and formats)

Other regions[edit]

Association football[edit]

• A-League All Stars Game – A selected team from the best of the Australian football (soccer) league. The A-League All Stars play an international club annually.
• J.League All-Star Soccer (Japan; J-WEST vs. J-EAST, generally)

Australian rules football[edit]

• E. J. Whitten Legends Game (Victoria vs. All Stars, a team representing the rest of Australia—annual)
• AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match (Victoria vs. Dream Team—only edition in 2008)

Baseball[edit]

• Australian Baseball League All-Star Game (Team Australia vs. World All-Stars)
• Chinese Professional Baseball League All-Star Game (Red vs. White)
• Honkbal Hoofdklasse All-Star Game (Netherlands; North All-Stars vs. South All-Stars)
• KBO All-Star Game (Nanum vs. Dream)

Basketball[edit]

• BBL All-Star Game (Basketball Bundesliga, Germany; teams currently divided by player nationality as National [Germans] and International)
• BSL All-Star Game (Basketball Super League, Turkey; teams currently divided by the location of the individual players' clubs as Team Asia (Anatolia) and Team Europe (East Thrace))
• DBL All-Star Gala (Dutch Basketball League; varying team compositions)
• HEBA Greek All Star Game (Greek Basket League; teams currently divided by player nationality as Greek and Rest of the World)
• LNB All-Star Game (LNB Pro A, France; teams currently divided by players citizenship as French nationals and foreign players)
• Lega Basket All Star Game (Lega Basket Serie A, Italy; varying team compositions)
• LKL All-Star Game (Lithuania; varying team compositions)
• NBB All-Star Game (Brazil; teams currently divided by player nationality as Brasil and Mundo [World])
• NBL All-Star Game (Australia; varying team compositions, with the current format being North vs. South)
• Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Game (South All-Stars vs. North All-Stars)

Ice hockey[edit]

• Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game — Two different formats have been used:
  • In the game's first two editions in 2009 and 2010, the competing sides were divided by player nationality: 'Team Russia' and 'Team World'.
  • Since then, the competing teams have been 'Team East' and 'Team West', divided between the league's two conferences.

Rugby league[edit]

• National Rugby LeagueAll Stars Game – (Indigenous All Stars vs NRL All Stars)

Note: This annual game involves a publicly voted selection of the best club players from the league versus an Aboriginal team in honour of reconciliation.

College all-star games[edit]

College football

• Aztec Bowl, features an all-star Mexican team and, currently, an NCAA Division III all-star team
• Blue–Gray Football Classic (defunct)
• Casino del Sol College All-Star Game (originally the Eastham Energy All-Star Game) (defunct)
• College All-Star Game (defunct), featured the defending NFL champions and an all-star team of recent college graduates
• Hula Bowl (defunct)
• Mahi Shrine North–South College All-Star Classic (defunct)
• Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic (defunct)
• Texas vs The Nation (defunct)
• North–South All-American Game (defunct)
• North–South All-Star Classic (defunct)

Other college sports

• North–South Senior All-Star Game, the NCAA men's lacrosse all-star games
• NCAA vs UAAP, All Star Collegiate Basketball between the top two college leagues in the Philippines

High school all-star games[edit]

High school baseball

• Perfect Game All-American Classic (East vs. West)

High school basketball

• McDonald's All-American Game — featuring the most highly recruited high school players from across the nation.
• Jordan Brand Classic – similar game among blue chip athletes
• Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic – the oldest continually held high school all-star game in the country. It is played annually in Louisville, Kentucky at Freedom Hall and features top high school boys basketball players from across the country.

High school football

• Alabama–Mississippi All-Star Classic (Alabama vs. Mississippi)
• Big 33 Football Classic (Pennsylvania vs. Maryland)
• Bayou Bowl (Houston metropolitan area, Texas vs. Louisiana)
• Don Raabe Big 30 Charities Classic (Southern Tier, New York vs. Northern Tier, Pennsylvania)
• Lions Club All-Star High School Football Classic (Erie County, New York vs. Niagara County, New York)
• Maryland Crab Bowl (Washington, D.C. vs. Baltimore)
• Oil Bowl (Texas vs. Oklahoma)
• DFW Bowl (high school) All Star Football Game featuring top players from (Dallas) vs. top players from (Fort Worth). The game is organized by North American All Stars. The game is also referred to as the North Texas East/West Classic.
• Dunmore Lions Club Dream Game (City vs. County) (Scranton, Pennsylvania)

(Longest running football all star game in the country. EST. 1935)

• North–South Game of the Carolinas (North Carolina vs. South Carolina)

High school lacrosse

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'All-Star Game History', Baseball Almanac.
2. ^Newman, Mark. 'All-Star MVP Awaits Your Vote', MLB.com, July 10, 2006.

External links[edit]

The National Hockey League All-Star Game (French: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey) is an exhibitionice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. Each team plays with four players. The Game's proceeds benefit the pension fund of the players.

The NHL All-Star Game, held in late January or early February, marks the symbolic halfway point in the regular season, though not the mathematical halfway point which, for most seasons, is usually one or two weeks earlier. Since 2007, it is held in late January.

• 1Format
• 2History
  • 2.1Benefit games
  • 2.2Official games
• 4Statistical leaders

Format[edit]

Current[edit]

On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced significant changes to the All-Star Game format, starting with the 2016 game: instead of one game pitted against two teams, there would be four All-Star teams based on the league's four divisions, competing in a single-elimination tournament. The format of all three games in the tournament will be three-on-three, with 10-minute halves each. If a tie remains after 20 minutes, then it will directly go to a three-round shootout plus extra rounds as needed to determine the winner; there is no standard overtime. In 2016, the Atlantic Division All-Stars faced the Metropolitan Division All-Stars in one semifinal, while the Central Division All-Stars played against the Pacific Division All-Stars in the second semifinal. The winners of these two games then meet in an All-Star Game Final.^[1] Since 2017, the format was slightly changed: the division that wins the NHL All-Star Skills Competition during the previous night then gets to pick which team they will play first in the semifinals.^[2]

Prior years[edit]

From 1947 to 1968, the All-Star Game primarily saw the previous season's Stanley Cup champions take on a team of All-Stars from the other clubs. There were two exceptions during this period: The 1951 and 1952 games instead featured two teams of All-Star players, one consisting of players on American-based teams and the other with players consisting of players on Canadian-based teams.

Beginning in 1969, the format was geographic with the Wales/Eastern Conference All-Stars playing the Campbell/Western Conference All-Stars, where the 'first team', or starting line, including the starting goaltender, voted in by fans, while the remainder of the teams' rosters are chosen by the NHL's Hockey Operations Department in consultation with the teams' general managers. Since 1996, the head coaches for the two All-Star teams have been the coaches of the two teams that are leading their respective conferences in point percentage (i.e. fraction of points obtained out of total possible points). Prior policy saw the two head coaches that appeared in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals coaching the All-Star teams.^[3]

The 1998 All-Star Game was held in the very same year as the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, providing the NHL to show its players from all over the world. To this extent, the NHL had the All-Star teams consist of a team of North Americans playing against a team of stars from the rest of the world.^[4] The North America vs. World All-Star format lasted through the 2002 Game, the same year as the 2002 Winter Olympics, before reverting to the Eastern vs. Western Conference format in 2003.

During the 2010–11 season, the NHL announced a change to the way the teams were selected, modeled after drafts in fantasy sports. The conference vs. conference (i.e. East vs. West) approach was replaced by a player draft conducted by the All-Star players themselves to determine the rosters for each team. The captains for each team now select players from a combined pool of both fan balloting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department. The change in format was a joint effort by the League and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA).^[5] This format lasted through the 2015 game.

The All-Star Game is preceded by the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, a competition showing the various talents of both the all-stars. Beginning in 2007, the All-Star weekend also featured the NHL YoungStars Game, an exhibition game exclusively featuring rookies,^[6] playing under slightly modified rules. In 2011 this game was eliminated in favor of having the rookies compete in the skills competition.

History[edit]

Benefit games[edit]

The first official All-Star Game was held during the 1947–48 NHL season. Prior to that, there have been several occasions when benefit games and All-Star Games were played.

Nhl All Star Hockey Game Schedule Time

Hod Stuart Benefit All-Star Game[edit]

The first All-Star game in ice hockey predates the NHL. It was played on January 2, 1908, before 3,500 fans at the Montreal Arena between the Montreal Wanderers and a team of All-Stars players from the teams the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association. It was held in memory of Montreal Wanderers player Hod Stuart, who had drowned three months after the Wanderers won the Stanley Cup in 1907. The proceeds of that game (over $2,000) went to Stuart's family.^[7]

Ace Bailey Benefit Game[edit]

On December 12, 1933, Toronto'sKing Clancy tripped Boston'sEddie Shore, and in retaliation, Shore hit the Leafs' Ace Bailey from behind, flipping him over backwards. Bailey hit his head on the ice so hard that a priest in attendance gave him last rites. Bailey lived for almost 60 more years, but his playing career was over. Shore was suspended for 16 games of a 48-game season for the hit.^[8]

As a benefit for Bailey and his family, the NHL held its first ever All-Star game on February 14, 1934. The game was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, during which Bailey's #6 uniform was retired by the Leafs. It was the first number to be retired in the NHL. The game saw the Leafs battle against an All-Star team made of players from the other seven teams, which the Leafs won 7–3. One of the more memorable moments before the game was when Bailey presented Shore with his All-Star jersey, showing to the public that Bailey had clearly forgiven him for his actions. Bailey also presented a trophy to NHL President Frank Calder before the game in the hope that the trophy would go to the winner of an annual All-Star Game for the benefit of injured players.^[9]

Stars Hockey Game Schedule

Howie Morenz Memorial Game[edit]

Howie Morenz was one of the NHL's superstars of the 1930s. However, his career, and eventually life, ended in a game between his Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks on January 28, 1937, at the Montreal Forum. In that game, Morenz was checked by Chicago player Earl Seibert into the boards in what seemed like a normal hit. However, as the boards were made of wood at the time, Morenz's leg shattered in five separate locations above the ankle. He was carried off the ice on a stretcher to a hospital, where he would stay for four and a half weeks until his death from a heart attack. At one time, one visitor noted that it was as if a party was being held inside of Morenz's hospital room, complete with whiskey and beer. Morenz died on March 8 the same year, from, as teammate Aurele Joliat put it, 'a broken heart' (Morenz suffered a heart attack the night before). Morenz's #7 sweater, which had been hanging in its usual stall while he was in hospital, was finally retired for good.^[10]

While Morenz was in the hospital, plans for a game for Morenz's benefit were already under way. However, the game was not as successful as Bailey's game, partially because it took place many months after Morenz's passing (on November 3 at the Forum) and partially because Morenz had not survived. The game saw two All-Star teams, the first being a team of stars from the Canadiens and the Montreal Maroons, the second being an All-Star team made of players from the other teams, with the latter team winning 6–5.^[11]

Babe Siebert Memorial Game[edit]

On August 25, 1939, Babe Siebert, former player of the Montreal Canadiens, drowned in Lake Huron. To benefit his family, the Canadiens and Montreal Maroons organized a benefit, held on October 29, 1939, at the Montreal Forum. Six-thousand fans attended a game between the Canadiens and the 'NHL All-Stars', raising CA$15,000 (CA$259,870 in 2018 dollars^[12]) for Siebert's family. The All-Stars won the game 5–2.^[13]

Official games[edit]

Despite Bailey's hopes of an annual All-Star Game, it did not become an annual tradition until the 1947–48 NHL season. In 1966, the All-Star Game was moved from the start of the season to its current position in the middle of the season. In 1979, the Challenge Cup series replaced the game, and in 1987 it was replaced with Rendez-vous '87. Lockouts disrupted the NHL season in 1995, 2005 and 2013 and resulted in the cancellation of the game in those years. As part of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that expired in 2014, the NHL agreed with the NHLPA not to hold an All-Star Game during Winter Olympic years, consequently the contest was cancelled in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2018, even though it was a Winter Olympic year, the contest was still played.

1940s[edit]

Both parts of Bailey's vision would, however, come true: The first game of the annual tradition, and the first official NHL All-Star Game, would be played in Maple Leaf Gardens, on October 13, 1947. The format of the All-Star Game, which remained the same, with two exceptions, until the 1967–68 NHL season, called for the defending Stanley Cup champions to play against a selection of players from the other five teams. For the first year, the All-Stars were a team composed of the First and Second NHL All-Star Teams (not to be confused with the All-Stars that played against the Cup champions), as well as three players from the New York Rangers and one player each from the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks.

For the Game, the Gardens facilities were upgraded to use glass on the boards (in an era where wire fences were the norm), a point that fans complained about as the sounds of the checks were somewhat muted. In what would be another tradition, the defending Stanley Cup champions were presented before the game with various gifts that included sweater coats, golf balls, cigarette boxes, ties, cufflinks, pocket knives, watches and lifetime passes to Maple Leaf Gardens. All-in-all, the game was a success, with the All-Stars winning 4–3.^[14]

Although the All-Star Game called for the defending Cup champion to host it, the game was held in Chicago Stadium in its second year as a consequence of the negotiations that set up the first game. Also as a peculiarity as a result of the scheduling, the game was held not before the season started (as was the case before and would be for almost 20 years following the game), but three weeks into the season. Like the year before, players from the First and Second NHL All-Star teams were automatically awarded spots on the All-Star Game rosters (an exception was Leafs goaltender Turk Broda, having won the Cup, played for the Leafs instead), with the rest of the all-stars being assembled so that each team was represented with at least three players on the All-Stars. As for the game itself, the All-Stars had won 3–1 with all scoring coming in the second period.

1950s[edit]

The defending Stanley Cup champions would win their first All-Star Game in 1950 by a 7–1 margin, thanks to Detroit's Production Line and the fact that five of the First and Second NHL All-Star teams were Red Wings. Because of the one-sidedness of the game, many fans and hockey insiders considered options on how to make the All-Star Game more balanced, including one where the All-Star Game was eliminated altogether in favour of a best-of-nine Stanley Cup Final with the proceeds of two of the games going to the players' pension fund, and one which saw a Canadian Teams vs. American Teams format (a somewhat flawed concept in that nearly all NHL players of the era, whether playing for teams representing American or Canadian cities, were Canadians). Ultimately, the 5th NHL All-Star Game saw the First NHL All-Star team battle the Second, with the players filling out the First team being from American teams and the Second team being filled with either Hab or Leaf players. The Game ended in a 2–2 tie, leaving many fans upset for the second straight year. The same format of First vs. Second with the First team being augmented by players from American teams and the Second being augmented by Leaf or Hab players continued the next year, but the 6th All-Star Game proved to be 60 minutes of boring hockey as the teams skated to a 1–1 tie.

Criticisms of this new format, as well as the boring hockey, was what made the NHL revert the format of the All-Star Game to its original incarnation. Some of the criticisms included the fact that teammates often opposed each other in the All-Star Game under the new format, and some stated that the early date of the game was detrimental to the exposure of the NHL in the States, being held at the same time as the World Series and the National Football League (NFL) season. In what would be later a reality, Toronto Star columnist Red Burnett suggested that the game should be played mid-season and that fans should choose their starting lineup, a system which had long been in use in the States with regard to Major League Baseball (MLB).

1960s[edit]

The Game was moved from the start of the season to mid-season in the 1966–67 season as part of the move to promote the NHL to six new cities who would have their own teams (in October 1967). Because of the move to mid-season, the method of player selection for the All-Stars, largely unchanged for 20 years, was much scrutinized, as playing the All-Star Game mid-season meant that the First and Second All-Star teams were decided almost a full year before the game itself, and that by mid-season, the Cup winners were a vastly different team from the team that had won the Cup some eight or nine months before. The mid-season move also meant that rookies with outstanding first years, such as Bobby Orr, would be shut out of the Game even if they deserved a spot on the All-Stars.

The 21st All-Star Game one year later was somber compared to the 20 before it, as the days before the game were tragic. On January 14, 1968, two days before the game, Bill Masterton had been checked by two Oakland Seals players and died from his on-ice injuries. The game itself was overshadowed by the debate on whether helmets should be worn in the NHL in the fallout of Masterton's untimely death. As in the previous years, the All-Stars were represented by the First and Second All-Star teams, as well as enough players so that each team was represented. The East-West format of future All-Star Games was announced in the 21st All-Star Game, with the intention of being able to move the game anywhere, alternating home ice between an East division team and a West division team year after year. The idea, along with the notion that the players chosen for the two All-Star teams should be the best at the time of the game rather than the best of the players from the season before, quickly gained popularity, although the Cup champions reserved the right to host the 22nd All-Star Game. The St. Louis Blues became the first Western host of the All-Star Game the following year. The 26th All-Star Game was the first in which the game MVP received a car as a prize.

1970s[edit]

With the realignment of the NHL into four divisions for the 1974–75 season, the 1975 All-Star Game was the first to pit the Wales Conference against the Campbell Conference.

In 1978, amidst renewed interest in international hockey, the NHL decided to replace the 1979 All-Star Game with a three-game series where the League's top players played against the Soviet Union's top players in the Challenge Cup, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Challenge Cup was being touted as a miniature world championship, and for the first time, fans could vote for certain members of the roster. The NHL would lose the three-game series two games to one, with the third game being lost by an embarrassing 6–0 margin.

Hockey All Star Game Schedule

Over the next few years, various aspects of the All-Star Game came under scrutiny, including the format of the game. To make things worse, the All-Star Game itself was viewed in some circles as a bad thing, with players opting out of the game in favour of the rest and prospective hosts repeatedly declining to host the event.

1980s[edit]

With the geographical realignment of the NHL for the 1981–82 season, the 1982 All-Star Game was the first between the Wales and Campbell Conferences that featured players from eastern teams against players from western teams.

The 37th All-Star Game in 1985 marked the first time that honorary captains were selected for each team. The Game also brought forth the notion of fan balloting of the starting lineup (already adopted in the National Basketball Association and by this time had returned, following a hiatus brought on by ballot box stuffing, to MLB; the NFL gave the fans the vote in the 1990s), as the game was suffering from having little media coverage. The idea came into fruition the following year.

In 1987, the All-Star Game was pre-empted in favour of Rendez-vous '87, held at Le Colisée in Quebec City. Like the Challenge Cup before it, Rendez-Vous '87 was an event where the best the NHL could offer played against a Soviet squad which had an entire year to prepare. To reduce the possibility of the NHL being embarrassed again, Rendez-Vous '87 was a two-game affair. The series was split between the two teams with a game won by each.

During the series, NHL President John Ziegler stated that Soviet players would never be able to join the NHL because of the way the Soviet hockey programme worked, and that NHLers would never be able to play in the Winter Olympics. Soviet players would be allowed to play in the NHL within three years, and an arrangement that would allow NHL players to play in the Olympics was announced within nine.

All Star Game Hockey 2019

1990s[edit]

The 41st All-Star Game in 1990 was held on a Sunday, after having been held on Tuesdays since 1968. That edition, the NHL All-Star Skills Competition and the Heroes of Hockey game were both introduced. The Heroes of Hockey game featured NHL alumni and was set up much like the main game, with Wales vs. Campbell. Many of these players retired before the introduction of the Wales and Campbell Conferences. Future Heroes of Hockey games would have the hometown alumni play against the 'best-of-the-rest', much like the all-star games of old. The 42nd All-Star Game introduced, as part of the player selection, two players chosen by the commissioner to honour their years to their game.

With the renaming of conferences and divisions on a geographical basis for the 1993–94 season, the 1994 All-Star Game was the first between East and West in name since 1974, although the Wales vs. Campbell format pitted east against west from 1982 to 1993.

The All-Star Game in 1995 was a casualty of the 1994–95 NHL lockout, which shortened that season to just 48 regular season games. San Jose, the originally scheduled venue, was instead awarded the 1997 All-Star Game.

The 1998 All-Star Game featured the first change in format in years in an attempt to promote the first Olympic hockey tournament with participation from NHL players.^{[citation needed]} From 1998 to 2002, a team of North American All-Stars faced a team of non-North Americans, known as the World All-Stars. Some critics suggested replacing the game with a miniature national tournament,^{[citation needed]} in the style of the World Cup of Hockey. Some fans were unhappy with a team consisting of 75% Canadian players being labeled 'North America.'^{[citation needed]} The 'First International Showdown', as it was billed, resulted in the North American All-Stars winning 8–7.

2000s[edit]

The 2003 Game's format was reverted to its classic East vs. West format. Dany Heatley scored four goals, tying an All-Star Game record, in addition to recording a shootout goal. Heatley also set the record for being the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the All-Star Game, a record previously held by the Edmonton Oilers' Wayne Gretzky. This shootout, the first of its kind in the NHL in the modern era, received an enthusiastic, frenzied response from the crowd when it was announced, and carried on during the event. This was influential in the later decision to decide regular season games tied after overtime with a shootout, thus eliminating tie games.

The All-Star Game was dealt two serious blows in 2005. Not only was the game canceled along with the rest of the season as a result of the 2004–05 NHL lockout, but the subsequent CBA that ended the lockout stipulated that heretofore the game was to be held only in non-Olympic years. Thus, there was no All-Star Game held during the 2005–06 season either.

After a two-season absence, the 2007 Game was played in Dallas, where the West defeated the East, 12–9. Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres recorded a goal and four assists and was named the Game's MVP.

The Atlanta Thrashers hosted the 2008 Game, as they had been originally scheduled to host the canceled Game in 2005. The Eastern Conference won the Game 8–7 on a late game-winning goal by Marc Savard with 20.9 seconds remaining in the third period, beating St. Louis BluesgoaltenderManny Legace. Eric Staal was named the MVP.

In 2009, the Bell Centre, the home of the Montreal Canadiens, hosted the Game, as well as the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. In the Game, the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 12–11 in a shootout (east 2/3 west 0/2). Approximately 21,000 people attended the game, where then-Canadien Alexei Kovalev was named the Game's MVP after scoring two goals and one assist, as well as the shootout winner. Montreal fans voted Kovalev into the starting lineup, in addition to teammates Andrei Markov, Carey Price and Mike Komisarek. The Canadiens were picked to host both events because the Montreal Canadiens team celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. The team was established in 1909 as a founding member of the National Hockey Association (NHA) which became the NHL in 1917.

A small number of All-Star players questioned their potential participation in 2009. Past and current All-Stars must obtain an excused absence (often related to injury or personal circumstances) by the League if they will not participate. If this approved absence is not obtained, a one-game regular season suspension is possible.^[15]

2010s[edit]

There was no All-Star Game in 2010 because of both a change to the CBA and 2010 being an Olympic Games year—the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver marked the first time that the Olympics had been hosted in an NHL market since the League allowed its players to compete in the Olympics.^[16]

The 2011 All-Star Game was played in Raleigh, North Carolina, home of the Carolina Hurricanes. Gary Bettman announced at the RBC Center on April 8, 2010, that the game would be held in Raleigh. The Phoenix Coyotes were originally slated to host the Game that year in replacement of the 2006 Game, which they had again originally been awarded before the NHL ultimately decided not to hold the Game the Olympic year. Amid fears that the Coyotes franchise would not 'right its ship' by February 2011, however, the cities of Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Ottawa rose as candidates for the 2011 Game, with Raleigh eventually being chosen, having been promised the Game since the Hurricanes reached 12,000 season ticket sales earlier in the decade. The 2011 Game also introduced a new format, replacing the traditional conference teams with a 'fantasy draft.' Fans voted for six players, from either conference (three forwards, two defencemen and one goaltender), while the NHL selected another 36 players for a total of 42 players. The chosen players then selected two captains for each All-Star team, who then selected their teammates in a draft. The chosen captains for the 2011 Game were Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit and Eric Staal of Carolina.

The 2012 Game repeated the fantasy draft format, with Daniel Alfredsson and Zdeno Chara as captains. The game was played in Ottawa to honor the 20th anniversary of the Senators' return to the NHL.

The 2013 All-Star Game was originally scheduled for January 27, 2013, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game was postponed to 2015, however, first due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout,^[17] which delayed the start of the 2012–13 season until January 19, 2013, followed the inability to play in 2014 due to it falling on an Olympic Games year, where NHL players competed at the XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Game was eventually played on January 25, 2015.

The 2016 All-Star Game was played on January 31, 2016, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the home of Nashville Predators. The game, which featured a number of country music acts in the festivities, was notable for both a new format (instead of a single game, a four-division, three-on-three tournament was held) and the appearance of John Scott, a journeyman enforcer who was voted into the game through a fan vote. Scott, who had been demoted to the American Hockey League after the vote, played as a member of no team and, as captain of the Pacific Division, scored two goals (after scoring none the entire regular season up to that point) and won the game's Most Valuable Player award.

Since that game in Nashville, the format was changed so that it was no longer a singular all-star game per se; instead, four all-star teams, each representing one of the league's four divisions, participate in a two-round knockout tournament, with each game being two 10-minute halves in length and played with three skaters on each team.^[18] That format was used in the subsequent All-Star Games.

The 2017 All-Star Game was played on January 29, 2017, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, to honour of the Kings' 50th anniversary. The 2018 All-Star Game was then played on January 28, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, the second time the Tampa Bay Lightning have hosted the All-Star Game, the first being in 1999, and the third overall in Florida.^[19]

The 2019 All-Star Game was hosted by the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on January 26, 2019, the first time it will be held on a Saturday after many years of the game being played on a Sunday.^[20][21]

Future[edit]

On January 1, 2019, it was announced the 2020 All Star Game will be hosted by the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. This will be the first time since 1988 that St. Louis hosts the game.^[22]

Six current NHL cities have not yet been awarded and subsequently hosted the NHL All-Star Game: Anaheim, Glendale, Las Vegas, Newark, Washington, D.C. and Winnipeg.^[23] The New Jersey Devils did host the game in 1984, though they were then based in East Rutherford, while the Capitals hosted the game in 1982 when they were based in Landover, Maryland. Other than the home arenas of the Devils and Capitals, the Prudential Center in Newark and the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the other new arenas that have not hosted the All-Star Game in markets that have hosted it previously are the United Center in Chicago, PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Rogers Place in Edmonton and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Results[edit]

The hosting teams in Italic means that they went on to win the Stanley Cup later in that season.

1. ^Scott was selected as an All-Star while he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes, through a fan vote. Between the time of being voted in and the game, Scott was traded on January 15 to the Montreal Canadiens, who sent him down to their AHL affiliate St. John's IceCaps; the league, on January 19, cleared Scott to remain in the All-Star Game.^[25] As a result of the trade and demotion, Scott wore a generic NHL jersey in the Skills Competition and did not represent any specific team.^[26]

Statistical leaders[edit]

Leading scorers[edit]

Most appearances[edit]

• Gordie Howe, 23 times
• Ray Bourque, 19 times
• Wayne Gretzky, 18 times
• Frank Mahovlich, 15 times
• Paul Coffey, 15 times
• Mark Messier, 15 times
• Scott Stevens, 13 times
• Alex Delvecchio, 13 times
• Glenn Hall, 13 times
• Al MacInnis, 13 times
• Jaromir Jagr, 12 times
• Joe Sakic, 12 times (elected to the team 13 times, was injured in 1997)
• Terry Sawchuk, 11 times
• Claude Provost, 11 times
• Patrick Roy, 11 times
• Nicklas Lidstrom, 11 times
• Teemu Selanne, 11 times
• Brian Leetch, 10 times
• Mario Lemieux, 10 times
• Jari Kurri, 10 times
• Steve Yzerman, 10 times

References[edit]

• Podnieks, Andrew (2000). The NHL All-Star Game: 50 years of the great tradition. Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN0-00-200058-X.

Notes:

1. ^'New format for Honda NHL All-Star Game announced'. NHL.com. 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
2. ^'NHL All-Star Skills Competition assignments set'. NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017. The division team with the most points at the end of the Skills Competition will be able to pick its opponent for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports), and whether they play in the first or second semifinal.
3. ^'2008 NHL All-Star Game'. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
4. ^Podnieks, Andrew (2000), The NHL All-Star Game: Fifty Years of the Great Tradition, Toronto: HarperCollins, pp. 251–255, ISBN0-00-200058-X
5. ^'All-Star Game to feature new Fantasy Draft'.
6. ^2007 All-Star Game Coverage: NHL's bright future is on display
7. ^Podnieks(2000), pp. 1–4
8. ^Podnieks(2000), pp. 5–7
9. ^Podnieks(2000), pp. 5–10
10. ^Podnieks (2000), pp. 11–12.
11. ^Podnieks (2000), pp. 12–14.
12. ^Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) 'Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted'. Statistics Canada. January 18, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019. and 18-10-0004-13 'Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit'. Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
13. ^Podnieks(2000), pp. 15–18
14. ^Podnieks(2000), p. 21
15. ^'Poll: Should All Star participation be mandatory?'. The Washington Post.
16. ^'Vancouver – A City of Olympic Firsts'. Tourism Vancouver. Archived from the original on 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
17. ^'Columbus Blue Jackets to Host 2013 NHL All-Star Celebration'. Columbus Blue Jackets. January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
18. ^'New format for Honda NHL All-Star Game announced'. NHL.com. November 18, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
19. ^'2018 NHL All-Star Game to be played at Tampa Bay'. NHL. 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
20. ^'NHL moves up All-Star skills competition, game in 2019'. Associated Press. ESPN. April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
21. ^'Sharks Awarded 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend'. NHL.com. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
22. ^'Blues awarded the 2020 NHL All Star Game'. STL Today. December 28, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
23. ^NHL All-Star weekend is showcase
24. ^'NHL cancels through Dec. 14, All-Star Game'. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
25. ^'John Scott will captain Pacific Division All-Stars'. nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
26. ^Lewis, Scott (January 21, 2016). 'John Scott to wear generic All-Star jersey for skills competition'. sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved January 21, 2016.

External links[edit]