The NHL All-Star Game is an annual exhibition ice hockey tournament traditionally conducted during the National Hockey League (NHL) season. During this event, numerous star players from the league compete against each other. The proceeds from the game contribute to the players' pension fund, and the victorious team receives a $1,000,000 prize directed towards a charity of their choosing.
From 1947 to 1968, the NHL All-Star Game featured the previous season's Stanley Cup champions facing a team of All-Stars from other clubs. There were exceptions in 1951 and 1952 when two teams of All-Star players, divided by American and Canadian-based teams, competed. Starting in 1969, the format shifted to geographic divisions – Wales/Eastern Conference All-Stars versus Campbell/Western Conference All-Stars. Fans voted for the starting line, while the NHL's Hockey Operations Department chose the rest of the roster in collaboration with general managers. The 1998 and 2002 All-Star Games adopted a North America vs. World format, aligning with the respective Winter Olympics. In 2016, the format transformed into a tournament with four teams based on the league's divisions, engaging in three-on-three matchups with 10-minute halves.
The 2023 announcement revealed a blend of the four-team, three-on-three format, and the fantasy draft system. Captains for each team are selected from a combined pool of fan voting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department, with players conducting a draft to form rosters.
NHL All-Star Game Captains List
The 2024 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, on February 3, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This event marked the first integration of the four-team, three-on-three format utilized since 2016 with the "fantasy draft" format from 2011 to 2015. The fantasy draft occurred on NHL All-Star Thursday, February 1, followed by the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on February 2.
NHL-selected team captains included Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs, leading one team; Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, leading the second team; Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, leading the third team; and Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, on the fourth team.
The 3-on-3 NHL All-Star Game featured Team MacKinnon against Team McDavid in the first game and Team Hughes against Team Matthews in the second game. Team McDavid and Team Matthews progressed to the final game with Team Matthews emerging victorious. The winning team received $1million in prize money which will be going to a charity of their choosing.
The coaches for the NHL All-Star Game were Laviolette, Montgomery, Bowness, and Tocchet, selected based on their teams' winning percentages at the halfway point of the season.
Here's a list of captains, co-captains, celebrity captains, and other members for each team in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game:
Team Hughes:
- Captain: Quinn Hughes (VAN)
- Co-Captain: Elias Pettersson (VAN)
- Celebrity Captain: Michael Bublé
- Head Coach: Rick Tocchet (VAN)
| Head coach: Rick Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks | |||||
| Entry/Pick no. | Nat. | Player | Team | Pos. | # |
| C | American | Quinn Hughes | Vancouver Canucks | D | 43 |
| A | Swedish | Elias Pettersson | Vancouver Canucks | F | 40 |
| 1 | Russian | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning | F | 86 |
| 8 | American | Thatcher Demko | Vancouver Canucks | G | 35 |
| 9 | American | Kyle Connor | Winnipeg Jets | F | 81 |
| 16 | American | Brady Tkachuk | Ottawa Senators | F | 7 |
| 17 | Swedish | Jesper Bratt | New Jersey Devils | F | 63 |
| 24 | Canadian | Cam Talbot | Los Angeles Kings | G | 39 |
| 25 | American | Brock Boeser | Vancouver Canucks | F | 6 |
| 32 | American | J. T. Miller | Vancouver Canucks | F | 9 |
| — | American | Frank Vatrano | Anaheim Ducks | F | 77 |
Team Matthews:
- Captain: Auston Matthews (TOR)
- Co-Captain: Morgan Rielly (TOR)
- Celebrity Captain: Justin Bieber
- Head Coach: Jim Montgomery (BOS)
| Head coach: Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins | |||||
| Entry/Pick no. | Nat. | Player | Team | Pos. | # |
| C | American | Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs | F | 34 |
| A | Canadian | Morgan Rielly | Toronto Maple Leafs | D | 44 |
| 2 | Swedish | William Nylander | Toronto Maple Leafs | F | 88 |
| 7 | Canadian | Mitch Marner | Toronto Maple Leafs | F | 16 |
| 10 | American | Jake Oettinger | Dallas Stars | G | 29 |
| 15 | American | Clayton Keller | Arizona Coyotes | F | 9 |
| 18 | Canadian | Mathew Barzal | New York Islanders | F | 13 |
| 23 | Russian | Igor Shesterkin | New York Rangers | G | 31 |
| 26 | Swedish | Filip Forsberg | Nashville Predators | F | 9 |
| 31 | American | Alex DeBrincat | Detroit Red Wings | F | 93 |
| — | American | Vincent Trocheck | New York Rangers | F | 16 |
Team MacKinnon:
- Captain: Nathan MacKinnon (COL)
- Co-Captain: Cale Makar (COL)
- Celebrity Captain: Tate McRae
- Head Coach: Rick Bowness (WPG)
| Head coach: Rick Bowness, Winnipeg Jets | |||||
| Entry/Pick no. | Nat. | Player | Team | Pos. | # |
| C | Canadian | Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche | F | 29 |
| A | Canadian | Cale Makar | Colorado Avalanche | D | 8 |
| 3 | Canadian | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | F | 87 |
| 6 | Bulgarian | Alexandar Georgiev | Colorado Avalanche | G | 40 |
| 11 | Russian | Kirill Kaprizov | Minnesota Wild | F | 97 |
| 14 | Finnish | Sebastian Aho | Carolina Hurricanes | F | 20 |
| 19 | Canadian | Tom Wilson | Washington Capitals | F | 43 |
| 22 | American | Jeremy Swayman | Boston Bruins | G | 1 |
| 27 | Canadian | Travis Konecny | Philadelphia Flyers | F | 11 |
| 30 | Swedish | Elias Lindholm | Vancouver Canucks | F | 23 |
| — | Danes | Oliver Bjorkstrand | Seattle Kraken | F | 22 |
Team McDavid:
- Captain: Connor McDavid (EDM)
- Co-Captain: Leon Draisaitl (EDM)
- Celebrity Captain: Will Arnett
- Head Coach: Peter Laviolette (NYR)
| Head coach: Peter Laviolette, New York Rangers | |||||
| Entry/Pick no. | Nat. | Player | Team | Pos. | # |
| C | Canadian | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | F | 97 |
| A | German | Leon Draisaitl | Edmonton Oilers | F | 29 |
| 4 | American | Connor Hellebuyck | Winnipeg Jets | G | 37 |
| 5 | Czech | David Pastrnak | Boston Bruins | F | 88 |
| 12 | Swedish | Rasmus Dahlin | Buffalo Sabres | D | 26 |
| 13 | Canadian | Robert Thomas | St. Louis Blues | F | 18 |
| 20 | Canadian | Sam Reinhart | Florida Panthers | F | 13 |
| 21 | Russian | Sergei Bobrovsky | Florida Panthers | G | 72 |
| 28 | Canadian | Boone Jenner | Columbus Blue Jackets | F | 38 |
| 29 | Canadian | Nick Suzuki | Montreal Canadiens | F | 14 |
| — | Czech | Tomas Hertl | San Jose Sharks | F | 48 |
FAQs
A. It is an annual exhibition ice hockey tournament held during the NHL season, featuring star players competing against each other.
A. The format shifted from Stanley Cup champions vs. All-Stars to geographic divisions and later adopted a North America vs. World format. In 2016, it became a tournament, and the 2024 game reintroduced the fantasy draft.
A. Teams were initially chosen based on geographic divisions. The fantasy draft, with captains choosing teams, returned in the 2024 All-Star Game on NHL All-Star Thursday, February 1.
A. The captains were Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Quinn Hughes. They were selected by the NHL from fan votes and the NHL Hockey Operations Department.
A. The weekend includes the skills competition and the 3-on-3 NHL All-Star Game. The $1 million prize goes to the skater with the most points at the end of the skills competition. The victor team of the All-Star game also won $1 million but the proceeds will be going to the charity of their liking.
