NHL All-Star Game

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The first official All-Star Game was held during the 1947–48 NHL season. Prior to that, benefit games were played, including the Hod Stuart Benefit All-Star Game on January 2, 1908, between the Montreal Wanderers and a team of All-Stars from the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, held in memory of Wanderers player Hod Stuart. The Ace Bailey Benefit Game on February 14, 1934, saw the Toronto Maple Leafs battle an All-Star team from the other seven teams, with the Leafs winning 7–3; Bailey's #6 uniform was retired, the first number retired in the NHL. The Howie Morenz Memorial Game on November 3, 1937, featured two All-Star teams, with the team of players from other clubs winning 6–5. The Babe Siebert Memorial Game on October 29, 1939, saw the Canadiens play the "NHL All-Stars," raising CA$15,000 for Siebert's family, with the All-Stars winning 5–2. 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, with exceptions in 1951 and 1952 featuring American-based vs. Canadian-based teams. Beginning in 1969, the format was geographic with the Wales/Eastern Conference All-Stars playing the Campbell/Western Conference All-Stars. The 1998 All-Star Game featured a team of North Americans playing against a team of stars from the rest of the world, a format that lasted through the 2002 Game. During the 2010–11 season, the NHL announced a player draft conducted by the All-Star players themselves to determine rosters, lasting through the 2015 game. On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced a new format starting with the 2016 game: four All-Star teams based on the league's four divisions, competing in a single-elimination tournament with three-on-three play. On November 27, 2023, the NHL announced it would combine the four-team, three-on-three format with the fantasy draft. On June 3, 2026, the NHL adopted a new format featuring five All-Star teams representing the United States, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and a "World" team, playing four five-minute 3-on-3 games in a round-robin tournament.

In Their Own Story

The All-Star Game was skipped in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 to 2024 editions were held on the first Saturday of February. The 2026 All-Star Game was skipped in favor of allowing players to focus on participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Lockouts disrupted the NHL season in 1995, 2005, and 2013 and resulted in the cancelation of the game in those years. As part of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that expired in 2012, the NHL agreed with the NHLPA not to hold an All-Star Game during Winter Olympic years that they participated in, consequently, the contest was canceled in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2018, however, the contest was still played.

Reader's Guide

The All-Star Game is preceded by the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, a competition showing the various talents of the all-stars. Beginning in 2007, the All-Star weekend also featured the NHL YoungStars Game, an exhibition game exclusively featuring rookies, playing under slightly modified rules. In 2011 this game was eliminated in favor of having the rookies compete in the skills competition. 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. Previously, the two head coaches that appeared in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals coached the All-Star teams. The "first team," or starting line, including the starting goaltender, is 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.

Did You Know?

• The first All-Star game in ice hockey predates the NHL, played on January 2, 1908, in memory of Hod Stuart.
• Ace Bailey's #6 uniform was the first number to be retired in the NHL, following the 1934 benefit game.
• The 1998 All-Star Game featured a North America vs. World format to showcase NHL players from around the globe.
• Starting with the 2016 game, the All-Star Game became a three-on-three, single-elimination tournament between four division-based teams.
• The All-Star Game was skipped in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2026 to allow players to participate in the Winter Olympics.