2024 NHL All-Star Game date, location, format: Everything you need to know

Each season, the NHL features the league’s best and brightest participating in a fun-filled All-Star Weekend. In addition to interviews and activities, the main event is an exhibition game between the league’s all-stars.

Last season, the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend took place in Sunrise, Florida at FLA Live Arena, home of the Florida Panthers. It was the second time the All-Star Game was hosted in South Florida. Four teams, one representing each NHL division, faced off. The Atlantic Division came away with the win.

This year, the special weekend returns to Canada with annual traditions and some twists. Here’s the scoop for the 2024 All-Star Weekend.

2024 All-Star Game date, location, format, and more

The 2024 All-Star Weekend will be held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This marks the 9th time Toronto has hosted the event, and their first time hosting since 2000. The event will take place from February 1 to February 3, 2024.

44 players will be named all-stars. The NHL will select 32 players, one from each team, to participate in the weekend. Fans have the opportunity to get in on the vote. 12 spots will be decided by fans in January. Who might we see selected? Some all-star candidates are Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, Adin Hill, David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin, and Auston Matthews.

2024's festivities will take place over the course of three days. On Thursday, February 1, an Alumni Man of the Year will be awarded, the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs will be honored, a player draft will take place, and there will be a PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) 3-on-3 showcase. Friday will feature a skills competition. Finally, Saturday will be the Rogers NHL All-Star Game.

The NHL All-Star Skills has been revamped for 2024. The NHL is going to announce an individual winner of the skills competition for the first time. 12 players will compete in the events. This year, the NHL will select eight players from the All-Star group to participate in the skills competition with input from the Players’ Association. The remaining four participants will be selected by fans. 

Players in the skills competition will participate in the first six events, and the top eight point-earners will advance to the seventh round. The top six will advance to the final round. Events include the fastest skater, the hardest shot, stick handling, one timers, a passing challenge, accuracy shooting, a shoot out, and an obstacle course. The overall winner will receive a $1 million prize.

This season, the four-team 3-on-3 format for the All-Star Game will be combined with the draft format, previously used from 2011-2015. Each team will have a player captain and a celebrity captain. The captains will select their teams in the player draft. Two teams will play, followed by the other two teams. The winning teams will face each other to determine the overall winner.

Where can you watch the event if you aren't attending in person? On Thursday, the All-Star Player Draft will air in the United States on ESPN, and the rest of the day will run on ESPN+. Friday's programming will air on ESPN and ESPN+. Saturday will be televised on ABC and ESPN+. In Canada, Thursday and Friday will air on Sportsnet (English) and TVA Sports (French). Saturday will run on Sportsnet and CBC (English) and TVA Sports (French).

The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto is set to bring an exciting program for NHL fans. All-Stars from each NHL team will bring their A game to put on a show for the fans.