Gary Bettman Makes Major Announcement Regarding the Future of the NHL All-Star Game
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Photo credit: NHL
Gary Bettman and the NHL made a shocking announcement today regarding next year's All-Star game.
The NHL did not have an All-star game this year as instead we got the Four Nations tournament.
The event was a resounding success, although many players around the league were upset as they were excluded based on where they were born.
However, the tournament was so successful that it is possible if not likely that more players will be included in future events.
But regardless of how successful the event was, one thing does seem clear, and that is that the annual All-Star game is falling out of favor with the league.
In fact, it sounds like last year's All-Star game may be the last we see in quite some time.
This is because NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters yesterday that there will not be an All-Star game again next season.
Instead, the league will host a 'kickoff' event just before the 2026 Winter Games, which will be the first to feature NHL players since 2014.
"We are comfortable and confident that we will have an event that people will like as a kickoff to going to the Olympics. We'll have an event at UBS (Arena) before we go to the Olympics, but then we'll do something that's more focused on a major hockey event for the following year. We have a little bit of time to finalize what we're doing."
The New York Islanders were originally slated to host next year's event at their brand new stadium, UBS Arena.
Now it seems like the organization will still get the opportunity to be hosts, but instead of the All-Star game, it will be the new event.
The team released the following statement regarding the matter on X.
"We look forward to working with the league on any event that will showcase our world class facility, UBS Arena."
Whatever the league has planned, the Islanders don't seem particularly excited about it.
To be fair, that is the same feeling many fans across the league have had about the All-Star game for years.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 282 ANSWERS Gary Bettman Makes Major Announcement Regarding the Future of the NHL All-Star Game Would you be disappointed if the NHL never hosted another All-Star game? | ||
| Yes | 47 | 16.7 % |
| No | 214 | 75.9 % |
| No opinion | 21 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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