NHL All-Star Skills Competition Explained: Rules, Participants, Past Winners and more
The NHL announced a revamped skills competition format. Here is everything you need to know about the rules, prizes, participants, and past winners.
The NHL All-Star game skills competition is getting a facelift in 2024. Players will compete in almost all of the challenges instead of hyper focusing on specific ones. Had this rule been in place for most of the century, we may have seen former hulking Bruins D Zdeno Chara in the fastest skater competition.
Many hockey fans have been angling for NHL All-Star weekend to get a facelift -- now they have one. How will NHL fans respond to the changes? Time will tell, but the previous format was certainly growing stale and was in need of a change.
What is the NHL All-Star Skills Competition format?
The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition will feature eight separate challenges. Usually, every All-Star competes in at least one event -- this season, 12 All-Stars will compete in all eight.
Players earn points for each event based on where they finish -- the player with the most points at the end of the proceedings wins $1 million.
Here are the eight events: fastest skater, hardest shot, stickhandling, one-timers, passing challenge, accuracy shooting, one-on-one shootout and obstacle course
When is the NHL All-Star Skills Competition 2024?
The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition is on Friday, February 2nd. The 2024 NHL All-Star game is on Sunday.
What time is the NHL All-Star skills competition?
The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition is on at 7 pm EST on Friday, February 2nd.
2024 NHL All-Star Skills Format and Scoring Explained
The 12 players will first compete in six separate skill challenge events: fastest skater, hardest shot, stickhandling, one-timers, passing challenge, and accuracy shooting. Players must choose four of the six events to compete in.
The eight with the most cumulative points will then compete in the NHL shootout competition. Then, the six remaining with the most points will compete in the NHL obstacle course.
Note: the NHL All-Star game format does not resemble the structure of the skills competition.
What is the NHL All-Star Skills Prize?
The prize for winning the NHL All-Star Skills Challenge is $1 million. The prize for winning each event is $30,000.
2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition Full List of Participants
Here are all of the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition participants:
Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak
Colorado Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar
Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl
New York Islanders: Mathew Barzal
Tampa Bay Lightning: Nikita Kucherov
Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews and William Nylander, Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and J.T. Miller
Previous NHL All-Star Skills Winners
Fastest Skater 2023: Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
Breakaway Challenge 2023: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals AND Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Accuracy Shooting 2023: Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
Hardest Shot 2023: Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
What channel is the NHL All-Star Skills competition?
How to watch NHL All-Star skill competition? The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place on ESPN and ESPN+.
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