2016 National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 2016 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on January 31, 2016. The game was held in Nashville, at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. This was Nashville's first time hosting the NHL All-Star Game.[1]

2016 NHL All-Star Game
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
January 31, 2016
Game oneAtlantic 4 – 3 Metropolitan
Game twoPacific 9 – 6 Central
Game threePacific 1 – 0 Atlantic
MVPJohn Scott
Attendance17,113
← 2015 2017 →

For this edition, the all-star game was replaced with a four-team, three-on-three, single-elimination tournament, with one team representing each of the league's four divisions. The all-stars from the Pacific Division won the four-team tournament.[2] Team captain John Scott, an enforcer voted into the game through a fan vote, scored two goals and was given the game's most valuable player award.[3]

Format

On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced significant changes to the All-Star Game format, replacing the previous two-team format with a 3-on-3 tournament between All-Star teams representing the league's four divisions; the Atlantic division played the Metropolitan, while the Central played the Pacific. Each game was played in two 10-minute halves, and went directly to a shootout in the event of a tie. The winners of the two semi-final games played in a championship game to determine the winner of the competition.[4]

Rosters

National Hockey League staff and associates voted internally to determine the rosters. Fan voting was altered to match the new divisional format. Voting determined the captains of each division, with the condition the player plays in the division they captain. This change was likely due to recent exploitation of the older method. For example, the fan votes in the 2015 All-Star Game were dominated by Chicago Blackhawks players and Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, who was voted in following a heavy campaign in his native country of Latvia.[5][6][7][8]

Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr tried to get fans to not vote for him; at age 43, he stated that he preferred to rest during the All-Star break rather than play in the 3-on-3 format.[9] Girgensons also stated that he did not believe that he deserved an All Star spot this year since he only recorded four points up to that point in the season.[10]

Following weeks of fan voting, the four captains were announced on January 2, 2016. Jagr was selected to lead the Atlantic, along with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan), Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks (Central) and John Scott of the Arizona Coyotes (Pacific).[11]

Scott received the most votes of any player, despite having only recorded one point in 11 games played with the Coyotes (Scott spent much of the season in the AHL, or as a healthy scratch) and scoring five goals in his entire career up to that point. The situation was compared to Rory Fitzpatrick's All Star campaign in 2007, in which fans vote for a player who would not conventionally be chosen as an All-Star. Despite this, both Scott and the NHL honoured the results.[7][12] Scott was traded out of the Pacific Division and demoted out of the league on January 15, 2016 in a move that sent Scott to the Montreal Canadiens, who in turn assigned him to the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps; the trade was expected to make him ineligible to serve as captain in the All-Star Game,[13] but the NHL announced shortly after the trade that he would be permitted to participate as a free agent for the Pacific Division.[14]

The rest of the rosters were revealed on January 6, 2016, with each of the NHL's 30 teams being represented by at least one player at the time the rosters were set (Arizona, whose lone All-Star was Scott, would ultimately not be represented).[15] The coaches for each division's team were determined by the teams with the highest point percentage in each division following the completion of games on January 9, 2016.[4] The coaches with each distinction included: Gerard Gallant (Florida Panthers) for the Atlantic Division, Lindy Ruff (Dallas Stars) for the Central Division, Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles Kings) for the Pacific Division, and Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals) for the Metropolitan Division. On January 21, 2016, the NHL announced the addition of country music stars Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, and Chris Young as celebrity coaches to each team; Amy Grant replaced Kelley before the game.[16][17]

Injury replacements were announced on January 28, 2016, with Evgeny Kuznetsov replacing teammate Ovechkin, who was out with a lower-body injury, and James Neal replacing Jonathan Toews, who was out due to illness. To replace Ovechkin's captaincy, John Tavares was awarded the "C".[18]

† Ovechkin was replaced by Kuznetsov due to a lower-body injury.[18]

‡ Toews was replaced by Neal due to illness.[18]

Bracket
Semi-Finals Final
Atlantic 4  
Metropolitan 3     Atlantic 0
Central 6     Pacific 1
Pacific 9  

Game summaries

East game

West game

Final

Uniforms

After the previous game featured black and neon green uniforms with chrome logos, the NHL opted to go with a more traditional design for this game. Once again, the dark uniform was black and the light uniform was white, but the trim colors included dark gray and golden yellow, with the uniform numbers featuring a two-tone beveled design. Both jerseys featured gray upper sleeves and a gray panel on the back containing the nameplate. The three stars of the Flag of Tennessee were featured on the collar of the jersey and the right pants leg.

Because only two jersey designs were used, all four divisional teams were issued jerseys in both colors. In the first game, the Atlantic Division wore black against the Metropolitan Division in white, while in the second game, the Pacific Division wore white against the Central Division in black. For the final game, the Atlantic and Pacific Division teams switched jersey colors, with the Atlantic now wearing white against the black-clad Pacific.

Festivities

Alongside the 3-on-3 tournament the NHL hosted several other events during the All-Star weekend.

  • 2016 NHL Fan Fair[24]
  • NHL Mascot Showdown[25]
  • 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition[26]
  • Live musical performances by Corrina and Vince Gill (U.S. national anthem), Lennon & Maisy (Canadian national anthem), Lee Brice (pre-game performance), Jennifer Nettles (second intermission), Sixwire (house band) and Small Time Rock Stars (house band)[27]
  • Colors Presentation during the singing of the Anthems was by the Music City Composite Squadron Honor Guard, Civil Air Patrol (SER-TN-185). Led by C/Lt Col Zachary Divers (U.S. Flag) and also composed of C/CMSgt Liam Howard (C.A.P. Flag), C/CMSgt Patrick May (Right Guard), C/SSgt Teagan Murphy (Left Guard), as well as Capt Eric Howard (Canadian Flag), and Maj Kevin Divers (Tennessee Flag) with Capt Michael May supervising. This was the first time in Civil Air Patrol's 75 year History to have a unit support a Major Professional Sport's All Star Game as a Color Guard or Honor Guard.

NHL All-Star Skills Competition

The competition was held on January 30, 2016 and was broken up into six events: Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge, DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting, Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay, AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot, and the Discover NHL Shootout. Teams Atlantic and Metropolitan combined to represent the Eastern Conference, and teams Central and Pacific combined to represent the Western Conference.

Fastest Skater

In this event, four pairs of skaters raced each other simultaneously on parallel short-courses on the rink. The fastest skater in the head-to-head match-ups received the chance to skate a full lap of the outside border of the rink, in the direction of their choosing, in an attempt to break Mike Gartner's record (13.386).The winner of each match-up scored one point, the team with the fastest skater scored a bonus point, and an extra bonus point was awarded for breaking Mike Gartner's record.

Team EastTime (sec)HeatTime (sec)Team West
Dylan Larkin12.894113.527Roman Josi
Brandon Saad13.634214.026Matt Duchene
Erik Karlsson14.630313.654Taylor Hall
Kris Letang14.081414.203Dustin Byfuglien
Larkin13.172*Record Attempt13.386Gartner
Event score: 5–1 Team East[28]
Overall score: 5–1 Team East

Breakaway Challenge

In this competition, competitors skated with the puck and attempted to score on the opposing team's goalie. Each competitor had two chances. The winner was judged on their presentation, style, creativity, and flair. NHL penalty shot rules did not apply. The winner was determined by fan-vote through Twitter and was rewarded one point for their team. The winner, P.K. Subban, donned a wig, black hockey-pants, an old hockey helmet, and a Jaromir Jagr jersey, skated in, and slid the puck into the net, after initially hitting the post, completing his best Jagr impression with a salute to the crowd. Runner-up Brent Burns was joined by his son Jagger, and Sharks teammate Joe Pavelski and his son Nathan. Former teammates Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo staged a mock argument in the net to leave it empty while Jagger got the puck from Nathan and scored.

While all other lineups were submitted by the team captains, this event also allowed fan-vote via Twitter to secure a guaranteed spot in the event for an eligible player of their choice. Voting was open from January 26, 2016 to January 28, 2016

Team East
Goalie: Cory Schneider		Team West
Goalie: Jonathan Quick
Brandon SaadJames Neal
Evgeny KuznetsovMatt Duchene
P.K. SubbanBrent Burns
Winner: P.K. Subban (31% of the vote)
Event score: 1–0 Team East[29]
Overall score: 6–1 Team East

Accuracy Shooting

In this event, competitors were positioned in front of the net, and were passed the puck from two players situated behind the goal line. The players had to hit targets at the four corners of the net in the fastest time. The event consisted of four head-to-head match-ups, with one shooter from each team per round. The winner of each match-up scored one point and the player who hit all four targets in the fastest time scored a bonus point.

Team East
Passers: Nicklas Backstrom, Jaromir Jagr		Time (sec)HeatTime (sec)Team West
Passers: Drew Doughty, Vladimir Tarasenko
John Tavares12.294120.000Patrick Kane
Patrice Bergeron23.362214.088Joe Pavelski
Claude Giroux17.254313.771Corey Perry
Evgeni Malkin16.179416.664Jamie Benn
Event score: 3–2 Team East[30]
Overall score: 9–3 Team East

Challenge Relay

In this competition, teams of 14 players and 2 goalies were selected from each side to compete in a timed relay event which consisted of four relays with five challenges each: One Timers, Passing, Puck Control, Stick-Handling, and Goalie Goals. Each player on the team had one skill to complete before the next player could start. The goal was to complete the relay in the fastest time. The team with the fastest time in each heat scored one point, and the team with the fastest overall time scored one bonus point.

Team EastTime (min:sec.ms)HeatTime (min:sec.ms)Team West
Aaron Ekblad (One-timer RH)
Erik Karlsson (One-timer RH)
Steven Stamkos (One-timer RH)
Patrice Bergeron (One-timer passer)
Nicklas Backstrom (Passing accuracy)
Justin Faulk (Puck control)
Claude Giroux (Stick handling)
Braden Holtby (Goalie goal)		 1:38.410 1 2:15.371 Shea Weber (One-timer RH)
Drew Doughty (One-timer RH)
Corey Perry (One-timer RH)
Taylor Hall (One-timer passer)
Daniel Sedin (Passing accuracy)
Johnny Gaudreau (Puck control)
Patrick Kane (Stick handling)
Pekka Rinne (Goalie goal)
Ryan McDonagh (One-timer LH)
Leo Komarov (One-timer LH)
Ryan O'Reilly (One-timer LH)
Jaromir Jagr (One-timer passer)
Evgeny Kuznetsov (Passing accuracy)
Kris Letang (Puck control)
Dylan Larkin (Stick handling)
Ben Bishop (Goalie goal)		 1:44.446 2 1:27.687 Mark Giordano (One-timer LH)
James Neal (One-timer LH)
Vladimir Tarasenko (One-timer LH)
Matt Duchene (One-timer passer)
Jamie Benn (Passing accuracy)
Roman Josi (Puck control)
Tyler Seguin (Stick handling)
Devan Dubnyk (Goalie goal)
Event score: 2–1 Team West[31]
Overall score: 10–5 Team East

Hardest Shot

In this competition, players skated in from the blue line, and slapped a puck placed 30 feet from the net as fast as possible into the net. The event consisted of four head-to-head match-ups where each player attempted two shots, with the fastest of their two shots recorded. The winner of each match-up scored one point, and the team with the player who had the fastest speed scored one bonus point.

Team EastSpeed (mph)HeatSpeed (mph)Team West
Aaron Ekblad93.4199.6Dustin Byfuglien
Evgeni Malkin97.0295.0Tyler Seguin
Steven Stamkos103.9395.9John Scott
P.K. Subban102.34108.1Shea Weber
Event score: 3–2 Team West[32]
Overall score: 12–8 Team East

Shootout

18 skaters and three goaltenders from each team will participate in the three-round shootout, with each round using six skaters and one goalie from each team. Teams received two minutes per round, to score as many goals as possible. NHL shootout rules applied to each scoring attempt. One point was awarded for each goal scored, except for players one and three from each team who were designated "Discover puck players", and goals scored by these players counted as two.

Team East
Goalies:
Roberto Luongo, Round 1
Braden Holtby, Round 2
Cory Schneider, Round 3		ResultResultTeam West
Goalies:
Devan Dubnyk, Round 1
John Gibson, Round 2
Pekka Rinne, Round 3
Round 1
Evgeni MalkinGoal (x2)SavePatrick Kane
Jaromir JagrSaveSaveMatt Duchene
P.K. SubbanSaveSaveBrent Burns
Ryan O'ReillySaveSaveMark Giordano
Leo KomarovSaveSaveVladimir Tarasenko
Aaron EkbladGoalSaveDaniel Sedin
MalkinGoal (x2)SaveKane
JagrSaveSaveDuchene
SubbanSaveSaveBurns
Round 2
Patrice BergeronGoal (x2)Goal (x2)Joe Pavelski
Nicklas BackstromGoalSaveTaylor Hall
Steven StamkosGoal (x2)SaveJamie Benn
Evgeny KuznetsovSaveSaveJames Neal
Ryan McDonaghGoalSaveJohnny Gaudreau
Justin FaulkGoalSaveDustin Byfuglien
BergeronGoal (x2)Goal (x2)Pavelski
BackstromSaveSaveHall
SaveBenn
Round 3
Claude GirouxGoal (x2)SaveJohn Scott
Dylan LarkinGoalSaveShea Weber
John TavaresSaveGoal (x2)Tyler Seguin
Kris LetangSaveSaveCorey Perry
Erik KarlssonSaveSaveDrew Doughty
Brandon SaadSaveSaveRoman Josi
GirouxSaveSaveScott
LarkinGoalSaveWeber
TavaresSaveSaveSeguin
SavePerry
Event score: 17–4 Team East[33]
Overall score: 29–12 Team East
  • italics = Heat winner
  • bold = Event winner
  • * denotes record
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See also

Notes
  1. Scott was voted in as a member of the Arizona Coyotes. A trade on January 15 saw Scott moved to the Montreal Canadiens, and sent down to their AHL affiliate St. John's IceCaps. On January 19, the NHL announced it would allow Scott to captain the Pacific Division All-Stars, despite no longer playing in the league or the Pacific Division.[14] However, as a result of the trade, Scott wore a generic NHL jersey, and was not a representative for Arizona; Arizona, as a result of trading away its only All-Star, was the only team not represented in the events.[23]

References
  1. "Predators to host 2016 NHL All-Star festivities". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. Hascup, Jimmy (January 31, 2016). "John Scott scores twice, named MVP after leading Pacific to All-Star win". USA Today. Nashville, Tennessee: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  3. Allen, Kevin (February 1, 2016). "John Scott goes from unwanted to unbelievable". USA Today. Nashville, Tennessee: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  4. "How the NHL's new 3-on-3 All-Star tournament works". Sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  5. McIndoe, Sean (January 22, 2015). "The Apathy and Absurdity of the NHL All-Star Game". Grantland.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. Stevenson, Dave (January 22, 2015). "NHL All-Star Game Needs To Be Fixed, Here's How". starsandsticks.com. FanSided, Inc. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  7. Mirtle, James (December 2, 2015). "If fans vote enforcer John Scott into all-star game, NHL says he's going". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. McLaren, Ian (December 9, 2014). "Sabres' Girgensons dominating All-Star voting after 3 weeks". thescore.com. Score Media Ventures, Inc. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  9. Gretz, Adam (January 4, 2016). "Jaromir Jagr is going to the All-Star game, would rather be in the Bahamas". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  10. Peters, Chris (December 2, 2015). "Jaromir Jagr to fans voting him into All-Star Game: '3-on-3 would kill me'". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  11. "Fans elect division captains for 2016 All-Star Game". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 2, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  12. Traikos, Michael (December 2, 2015). "John Scott, an enforcer with five career goals and a sense of humour, might be just what the NHL All-Star Game needs". National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  13. Cooper, Josh (January 15, 2016). "Trade likely knocks John Scott out of NHL All-Star Game". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  14. "John Scott will captain Pacific Division All-Stars". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  15. "Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  16. "NHL announces celebrity coaches for 2016 ASG". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  17. "Los Angeles next to host All-Star Game". tennessean.com. The Tennessean. January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
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  19. Davis, Craig (January 6, 2016). "Panthers' Luongo and Ekblad join Jagr on All-Star team". Sun-Sentinel. Ottawa: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  20. Khurshudyan, Isabelle (January 2, 2016). "Alex Ovechkin voted a captain for NHL All-Star Game". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings, LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  21. "Benn, Seguin and Ruff Represent the Dallas Stars in 2016 All-Star Game". KXAS-TV. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  22. Hammond, Rich (January 6, 2016). "Doughty, Quick, Sutter to represent Kings at All-Star Game". Orange County Register. Freedom Communications. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  23. Lewis, Scott (January 21, 2016). "John Scott to wear generic All-Star jersey for skills competition". sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  24. Roarke, Shawn (January 28, 2016). "Fan Fair provides perfect start to All-Star Weekend". nhl.com. Nashville, Tennessee: NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  25. "NHL to host second annual 'Mascot Showdown'". nhl.com. Nashville, Tennessee: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  26. "All-Star Skills Competition to showcase top talent". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  27. "NHL All-Star Game entertainment lineup announced". nhl.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  28. "Detroit rookie Dylan Larkin skates fastest lap at NHL skills event". ESPN News Services. Nashville, Tennessee: ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  29. Battaglino, Mike (January 30, 2016). "Subban channels Jagr to win breakaway challenge". nhl.com. Nashville, Tennessee: NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  30. Cooper, Josh (January 30, 2016). "John Tavares wins NHL Accuracy Shooting competition". sports.yahoo.com. Nashville, Tennessee: Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  31. Compton, Brian (January 30, 2016). "West defeats East in Skills Challenge Relay". nhl.com. Nashville, Tennessee: NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  32. Allen, Kevin; Hascup, Jimmy (January 30, 2016). "The good and bad from NHL All-Star skills competition". USA Today. Nashville, Tennessee: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  33. Battaglino, Mike (January 30, 2016). "East dominates shootout, wins Skills Competition". nhl.com. Nashville, Tennessee: NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
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