NHL announces major changes to All-Star skills competition including $1 million grand prize

NHL All-Star weekend will look different this season, as the world’s best players will now have a $1 million incentive to flash their skills in the annual skills competition.

The league announced major changes to the All-Star skills competition late Tuesday night, with the new version set to see 12 players compete across eight events for points. The player who accumulates the most points will take home a $1 million grand prize. The new format will debut at the 2024 All-Star Game in Toronto on Feb. 2. The NHL had previously revealed that the All-Star teams would be decided by a celebrity draft and no longer based on divisions.

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Commissioner Gary Bettman was on ESPN on Tuesday night to discuss the changes.

“It’s going to be pure hockey skills, winner wins $1 million dollars, $500,000 to him, $500,000 to his charity and it’s a cross between the old Superstars and the pentathlon, so it will be good for everybody,” the commissioner said.

The NHL’s hockey operations department and the NHLPA will select the first eight players who will compete, while fans will vote for the final four participants. The 12 players, who all must be selected as All-Stars, then must select four of the following six events to compete in: fastest skater, hardest shot, stickhandling, one-timers, passing challenge, and accuracy shooting. Players will be awarded on a 0-5 point scale for each event with the first-place finisher getting five points, the second-place finish four, and so on. A sixth-place finish or below will result in zero points for that event.

After each player has competed in four events, the field will be narrowed down to eight based on total points. The advancing players will face off in a shootout competition, one in which they will have the luxury of choosing the goalie they will shoot on. The field will be cut from eight to six after the shootout, with the final group going through an obstacle course, where the point totals are doubled. The top scorer after that final event will be crowned champion.

The changes are designed to showcase the players’ hockey skills and add more competitiveness to the event. This is a stark contrast to previous versions of the showpiece which often featured gimmicky or non-hockey events that focused on the host city and centered on pageantry and theatrics. In recent years the NHL had incorporated golf and a style category to the shootout portion, which both fell somewhat flat.

The new format overall skills crown should also help ensure that top players will compete, with the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and Jack Hughes all favorites to be selected if healthy. McDavid was consulted on the idea of this new-look competition and had input on the events.

Travis Konecny would likely be the Flyers All-Star if the game was played today, as he leads the team in both goals (16) and points (24). But in terms of the skills competition, Konecny would likely need to be one of four players voted in by the fans.