Toronto to Host NHL All-Star Game: All You Need to Know About the 2024 All-Star Festivities

The NHL’s best players are set to gather in the city of Toronto as it hosts the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. The highly anticipated event will feature a revamped format, with a Skills competition on Friday night and the All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon.

Among the selected players are seven first-time All-Stars, including Auston Matthews, who will also serve as the captain of Team Matthews, representing the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, top draft pick Connor Bedard will miss out on the festivities as he continues his recovery from a broken jaw.

The revamped NHL All-Star Skills competition, designed in part by Edmonton star Connor McDavid, will showcase twelve players competing across eight different events. The player with the highest accumulated points will walk away with a $1 million prize.

The All-Star Game will follow the familiar three-on-three format, with teams captained by Matthews, McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Quinn Hughes. The teams, along with their celebrity partners, have been designated as Team Matthews, Team McDavid, Team MacKinnon, and Team Hughes.

The festivities will take place at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, marking the city’s ninth time hosting the All-Star Game and the first since 2000. The last Canadian city to host the event was Ottawa in 2012.

During the Skills competition, the twelve participating players will compete in six initial events, followed by a shootout against chosen goalies. The lowest-scoring four players will be eliminated, leaving eight players to battle for the top spot in the NHL obstacle course, where points are doubled.

All players, excluding the captains, will be drafted into one of the four teams during Thursday’s draft ceremony. Among the notable players participating are Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, and many more.

The Skills competition and the All-Star Game will be broadcasted on ESPN and ABC, respectively, and can also be streamed online.