2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 2017 All-Star Game continued to use the 3-on-3 tournament format successfully introduced in 2016, in which teams representing each of the NHL's four divisions (the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, and Pacific) played in a single-elimination tournament, with each game consisting of two 10-minute halves played 3-on-3 and going directly to a shootout if tied after 20 minutes.[3][4] The winning team, the Metropolitan All-Stars, split $1 million.

The 2017 NHL All-Star Skills Competition was held on January 28, 2017. As with 2016, the event featured the Skills Challenge Relay, accuracy shooting, fastest skater, hardest shot, and shootout challenges. For 2017, the breakaway competition was dropped and replaced by a new event, the Four Line Challenge, in which four shooters from each team took shots at the goal from various positions on the ice.[5]

For the first time, the Skills Competition had a direct impact on the All-Star Game itself; the winning team was given the right to select their semi-final opponent during the tournament, and whether they would play in the first or second semifinal.[6]

The Atlantic Division won the competition with 9 points, Pacific Division with 7, Metropolitan Division with 5, and Central Division with 3.[7]

In an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2016 fan voting process, where journeyman John Scott won the fan vote and thus the right to play in the game, fans were given a predetermined ballot of players from whom to choose captains. On January 2, 2017, after weeks of fan voting, the four captains were announced by the NHL. Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens was selected captain for the Atlantic Division. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was selected for the Metropolitan Division, with P. K. Subban of the Nashville Predators captaining the Central Division and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers captaining the Pacific Division respectively. [8]

The rest of the rosters were revealed on January 10, 2017, with each of the NHL's 30 teams being represented by at least one player at the time the rosters were announced. NHL rules that dictated that the head coach of the team with the highest points percentage in each of the four divisions through games of Tuesday, Jan. 10 – the halfway point of the regular season – would coach their respective divisions.[9] The head coaches selected were Michel Therrien (Montreal Canadiens) for the Atlantic Division, Bruce Boudreau (Minnesota Wild) for the Central Division, John Tortorella (Columbus Blue Jackets) for the Metropolitan Division, and Peter DeBoer (San Jose Sharks) for the Pacific Division.[10] Tortorella announced that he had to miss the game due to a family emergency and was replaced by Wayne Gretzky (who had not coached hockey since leaving the then-Phoenix Coyotes in 2009).[11][12]

Atlantic Division[10] Head coach: Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens Nat. Player Team Pos. # Carey Price (C)[8] Montreal Canadiens G 31 Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins G 40 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning F 86 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins F 63 Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs F 34 Frans Nielsen Detroit Red Wings F 51 Kyle Okposo Buffalo Sabres F 21 Vincent Trocheck Florida Panthers F 21 Victor Hedman Tampa Bay Lightning D 77 Erik Karlsson Ottawa Senators D 65 Shea Weber Montreal Canadiens D 6 Metropolitan Division[10] Head coach: Wayne Gretzky Nat. Player Team Pos. # Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets G 72 Braden Holtby Washington Capitals G 70 Sidney Crosby (C)[8] Pittsburgh Penguins F 87 Taylor Hall New Jersey Devils F 9 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals F 8 Wayne Simmonds Philadelphia Flyers F 17 John Tavares New York Islanders F 91 Justin Faulk Carolina Hurricanes D 27 Seth Jones Columbus Blue Jackets D 3 Ryan McDonagh New York Rangers D 27 Cam Atkinson† Columbus Blue Jackets F 13 † Replacing Evgeni Malkin due to injury.[13][14]

Central Division[10] Head coach: Bruce Boudreau, Minnesota Wild[15] Nat. Player Team Pos. # Corey Crawford Chicago Blackhawks G 50 Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild G 40 Patrik Laine Winnipeg Jets F 29 Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks F 88 Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche F 29 Tyler Seguin Dallas Stars F 91 Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis Blues F 91 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks F 19 P. K. Subban (C)[8] Nashville Predators D 76 Ryan Suter Minnesota Wild D 20 Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks D 2 Pacific Division[10] Head coach: Peter DeBoer, San Jose Sharks Nat. Player Team Pos. # Martin Jones San Jose Sharks G 31 Mike Smith Arizona Coyotes G 41 Connor McDavid (C)[8] Edmonton Oilers F 97 Jeff Carter Los Angeles Kings F 77 Johnny Gaudreau Calgary Flames F 13 Bo Horvat Vancouver Canucks F 53 Ryan Kesler Anaheim Ducks F 17 Joe Pavelski San Jose Sharks F 8 Brent Burns San Jose Sharks D 88 Drew Doughty Los Angeles Kings D 8 Cam Fowler Anaheim Ducks D 4

The division that won the Skills Competition during the previous night got to choose their first opponent in the 3-on-3 tournament, and whether they play in the first or second semifinal game.[6] The Atlantic Division won the Skills Competition and chose to play the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal.[16]

Unlike the previous game, where all four teams had been issued two sets of All-Star uniforms of the same design, the NHL opted to dress each divisional team in a unique color for this game. The primary colors of the uniforms incorporated the historical colors of the host Los Angeles Kings: black for the Pacific division, purple for the Central Division, gold for the Atlantic Division, and white for the Metropolitan Division. The striping, which included stars at the waistline, paid homage to the All-Star uniforms of the 1980s and early 1990s. The number typeface was based upon the design of the Hollywood sign.

Additional festivities and events were held alongside All-Star weekend, some of which were held in conjunction with the NHL's centennial commemoration. The NHL's travelling centennial exhibits were situated in Los Angeles for the event, and the NHL Fan Fair was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A public skating rink was built across from the All-Star Game's venue of Staples Center.[17][18]

On January 27, 2017, the NHL 100 Gala was held at Microsoft Theater, in which the NHL unveiled the remainder of its top 100 players of all-time (the first 33, representing players who played prior to 1966, were unveiled during a pre-game ceremony at the NHL Centennial Classic earlier in the month). The special was hosted by Jon Hamm, and featured appearances by Michael J. Fox, Al Michaels, Keanu Reeves, and Alex Trebek, and performances by John Legend, and John Ondrasik.[19]

Carly Rae Jepsen sang the Canadian national anthem. Pop group Fifth Harmony were scheduled to sing the U.S. anthem, but pulled out after one of their members had fallen ill. They were replaced by singer Courtney Daniels, a member of the Los Angeles Kings' ice cleaning crew (she performed similar duties during the game, and also assisted in presenting the MVP award after its conclusion).[20][21] Snoop Dogg (under the alias DJ Snoopadelic) performed during player introductions for the skills competition.[22] Before the game, the teams were introduced by four celebrities, each representing their home division: Atlantic - Wayne Gretzky, Metropolitan - Tim Robbins, Central - Chris O'Donnell, Pacific - Colin Hanks.

In the United States, the All-Star Game was broadcast by NBC, marking the All-Star Game's return to network television for the second time since 2004.[25] In Canada, it was broadcast on both CBC and Sportsnet, and on TVA Sports in French.[6]