Instead of having just one game pitted against the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, this years ASG will feature four teams representing each of the league's divisions. The Atlantic Division all-stars will matchup against the Metropolitan Division all-stars, while the Central Division all-stars will face the Pacific Division all stars. The winner these two games will go on to face each other in the All-Star game final. There is another twist: all games will be played under a 3-on-3 format. 3 skaters and 1 goalie to a team. If the games remain tied after 20 minutes of play, it will move on directly to a three-round shootout, with extra rounds if needed. There will be no overtime play this year.
The voting was a little different this year. Fan voting was changed so that fans only voted for the captain that represents each division. Voting for the roster players for each division was done by National Hockey League staff and associates internally.
The four captains that were selected were Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers representing the Atlantic Division, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals representing the Metropolitan Division, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks representing the Central Division, and infamously, John Scott of the Arizona Coyotes representing the Pacific Division.
Now, Scott being voted as an All-Star captain started out as a joke among fans. He was the top vote getter at first and nobody really thought that it would actually get this far. Scott, a notoriously dirty player who hasn't had a very impressive NHL resume, was voted in it seems purely out of the humor factor it would bring. Scott has handled the situation well and with maturity, saying that he is excited and that it "will give us fourth line players something to be proud of." Amid the people who are up in arms about, it should provide a humorous factor to the game a make it entertaining.
Left to right: Ovechkin, Jagr, Kane, Scott
On to the full rosters. Here is a list of which players were named All-Stars to represent their respective divisions.
ATLANTIC ALL-STARS
F - Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
F - Jaromir Jagr (FLA)
F - Leo Komarov (TOR)
F - Dylan Larkin (DET)
F - Ryan O'Reilly (BUF)
F - Steven Stamkos (TBL)
D - Aaron Ekblad (FLA)
D - Erik Karlsson (OTT)
D - PK Subban (MTL)
G - Ben Bishop (TBL)
G - Roberto Luongo (FLA)
METROPOLITAN ALL-STARS
F - Niklas Backstrom (WSH)
F - Claude Giroux (PHI)
F - Evgeni Malkin (PIT)
F - Alex Ovechkin (WSH)
F - John Tavares (NYI)
F - Brandon Saad (CBJ)
D - Justin Faulk (CAR)
D - Kris Letang (PIT)
D - Ryan McDonagh (NYR)
G - Braden Holtby (WSH)
G - Cory Schneider (NJD)
CENTRAL ALL-STARS
F - Jamie Benn (DAL)
F - Matt Duchene (COL)
F - Tyler Seguin (DAL)
F - Patrick Kane (CHI)
F - Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)
F - Jonathan Toews (CHI)
D - Dustin Byfuglien (WPG)
D - Roman Josi (NSH)
D - Shea Weber (NSH)
G - Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G - Devan Dubnyk (MIN)
PACIFIC ALL-STARS
F - Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F - Taylor Hall (EDM)
F - Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F - Corey Perry (ANA)
F - John Scott (ARI)
F - Daniel Sedin (VAN)
D - Brent Burns (SJS)
D - Drew Doughty (LAK)
D - Mark Giordano (CGY)
G - John Gibson (ANA)
G - Jonathan Quick (LAK)
So those are the teams that you will see competing at this year's All-Star Game festivities in Nashville. The new 3-on-3 format will be exciting and is something I am really looking forward too. It will give the players so much more room on the ice to skate and show off their skills. The back and forth action will be sure to keep the viewer engaged. Look for the agile and fast skaters to really flourish in the 3-on-3 format. Karlsson, Doughty, Duchene, Gaudreau, Malkin, are all players to really keep your eye on during 3-on-3 play. All can absolutely fly down the ice and will put on a great show.
With the roster reveals, the jersey reveals came as well.
Now, I still do not fully understand why the NHL hasn't used all of the colors of the host team, but at least these incorporate Nashville's gold. I like these jerseys a lot better than last year's neon green disaster. They look a lot cleaner and more professional. I just wish in the next few years we will see jerseys fully based off the host team's colors.
With the roster reveals, the jersey reveals came as well.
Now, I still do not fully understand why the NHL hasn't used all of the colors of the host team, but at least these incorporate Nashville's gold. I like these jerseys a lot better than last year's neon green disaster. They look a lot cleaner and more professional. I just wish in the next few years we will see jerseys fully based off the host team's colors.
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