NHL re-evaluating 2026 All-Star Game format after success of 4 Nations Face-Off
As the National Hockey League’s general managers get together in Florida to discuss the state of the game and what the future holds for the sport, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke with reporters on Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics, including next season’s All-Star Game format.
According to Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli, Bettman says the NHL is re-evaluating the 2026 All-Star Game format, because after the most recent 4 Nations Face-Off, they’ve “raised the bar” with what an All-Star weekend might look like.
Bettman says the #NHL is re-evaluating the 2026 All-Star Game format in New York because they’ve “raised the bar” with what an All-Star weekend might look like as a result of success at #4Nations.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 19, 2025
Bettman went on to say that everything remains on the table, including the potential for doing something entirely different.
The 2026 All-Star Game is scheduled to be held at UBS Arena in New York, the home of the New York Islanders. The event will be held before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, which will be the first Olympic games the NHL has participated in since Sochi 2014.
When it was announced in 2024, Bettman had said he wanted the All-Star Weekend to be used “as a sendoff to the Olympics,” meaning the players who will compete in both will leave from New York and head to Milan.
The last All-Star Game took place in Toronto in February 2024, following the four-team, three-on-three format, and combined with a fantasy draft format. The team captains were Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, with Jack and Quinn Hughes co-captaining a team of their own.
This will be the first time the Islanders have hosted the All-Star Game since 1983, when Hall of Famers like Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, Ray Bourque, Mike Bossy and Ron Francis took part.