NHL All-Star game scrapped for three-on-three tournament format

Capitalizing on the frenzied pace and popularity of its new three-on-three overtime format, the NHL announced Wednesday that its annual All-Star game will feature three 20-minute games of three-on-three play contested among divisional teams.

The NHL and NHL Players’ Assn. agreed to stage the three-on-three tournament instead of playing a single game on Jan. 31 in Nashville. Players on the winning team will split a $1-million prize, which, presumably, won’t count against the salary cap of those players’ respective teams.

Each of the four divisional All-Star teams will have 11 players — six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders, and all 30 teams will be represented. Fans will vote for one player from each division, and the remainder of the rosters will be named by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department. The four coaches whose teams lead their respective divisions after the games of Jan. 9 based on best points percentage will coach those divisions at the All-Star festivities.

In the first round the Central Division will face the Pacific Division in a 20-minute game, and the Metropolitan Division will face the Atlantic Division all-stars in a 20-minute game. The winners will play for the championship. Teams will change ends at the 10-minute mark of each game. A shootout will decide the winner if the game is tied after 20 minutes.

The new format ensures the end of the fantasy draft, in which team captains chose players but often caused embarrassment for those not chosen early. But the skills competition, which has gained favor among fans, will return and will be held on Jan. 30.

The NHL has long struggled to bring significance to its All-Star game, fighting a losing battle because the lack of physicality in All-Star play takes away an essential element of the game. The league has experimented with various formats and has decided to give fans more of three-on-three play, a format that was instituted during overtime in order to settle more games before shootouts. The results have been entertaining, if tiring for players, with many odd-man rushes and spectacular plays unfolding on an ice surface that seems oddly big.

According to the NHL, through Tuesday’s games 67.9% of games that went beyond 60 minutes ended in overtime. That’s up from 44.4% last season, when a four-on-four overtime format was in place.

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