NHL to Attempt Different All-Star Skills Competition Format in 2024

The NHL announced the 2024 All-Star Skills competition will feature just 12 players, eight events and a $1 million prize for the winner.

The NHL has incentivized the skills competition at this year's all-star weekend.

In a press release issued Tuesday, the league announced plans for a brand-new format where 12 NHL all-stars will compete in an eight-event competition for a $1-million cash prize.

In a world where sports leagues copy-cat one another, the NHL chose to stray from the norm and introduce a unique concept.

The event takes place in three stages. The first round will feature six competitions — fastest skater, hardest shot, stickhandling, one-timers, passing and accuracy shooting — with each player participating in four. Players will earn points for their performance in each competition. 

The players with the eight best scores in the first round advance to the seventh challenge, a shootout. It’s not a normal shootout, though, as players choose which goalie they shoot against. The six players with the best shootout scores advance to the eighth and final event — an obstacle course where points are doubled.

Missing from this year's challenges is the breakaway challenge, which returned in Florida last season, but players focused more on presentation than puck skills. 

If all goes to plan, the different format should bring out the best from 12 of the NHL's best players. In years past, the NHL all-star competition was sort of a mixed bag in terms of effort level, and the breakaway challenge mimicked the NBA dunk contest in terms of theatrics. With these game-like competitions, fans at home and in the arena could get to see the elite abilities of the competing all-stars. And a grand prize for winning sure beats getting a vehicle as a consolation prize for being the last pick in the player draft, like Phil Kessel in 2011.

Toronto's Scotiabank Arena hosts the 2024 NHL all-star weekend from Feb. 1 to 3. It all starts with NHL All-Star Thursday, which includes a fantasy player draft and a 3-on-3 PWHL women's hockey showcase. The skills competition is slotted for Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be the following day, on Feb. 3.