The NHL All-Star Game will have a new format in 2016. The league reportedly plans to change the annual event into a mini 3-on-3 tournament, which will replace the fantasy draft format for the event in January at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The new 3-on-3 overtime rules are in their first season of existence and have mostly drawn positive reviews. Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews leads the league with two goals during the extra session. Patrick Kane is the only other Chicago player to have a tally in overtime this season.
Here’s a breakdown of how the All-Star Game rosters will work, via TSN:
There will be four teams of nine skaters and two goalies, one team for each of the four divisions (Atlantic and Metropolitan in the East; Central and Pacific in the West). There will be a 20-minute mini-game – likely two 10-minute halves – featuring one division versus another in 3-on-3 action followed by another 20-minute game with the other two divisions playing each other.
So that means the Blackhawks’ stars will be competing with the other players in the Central Division in order to make an 11-man roster. That presumably breaks down to six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. This should at least be entertaining, right?
Toews and Kane were among five Blackhawks named to the All-Star team in 2015. Defenseman Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and goaltender Corey Crawford also made the roster. It’s hard to imagine as many players from the team making a smaller roster representing the Central this time around.
Personally, I think it’s fine that the NHL keeps tinkering with the All-Star Game format because we all know they haven’t really figured out a way to make it gripping entertainment to this point. Maybe opening up the ice for some 3-on-3 action — and offering a reported prize of $1 million to the winning team — will get the players to show a little more oomph in the exhibition.
Roster projection
The game isn’t until January 31 but there’s no reason why we can’t take a look at how the roster for the Central Division might stack up today. It’s probably fair to say that the Central will boast one of the better teams in the event considering how stacked the division is.
FORWARDS: This group is going to be simply ridiculous. Patrick Kane will likely make the team considering he leads the NHL in points. Next up, you pretty much have to assume the Stars‘ one-two punch of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn will be there. Vladimir Tarasenko seems likely to represent the Blues and Blake Wheeler’s hot start with the Jets could get him in as well. Other candidates include Nathan MacKinnon, Artemi Panarin, James Neal, Bryan Little, Alexander Steen, Matt Duchene, Patrick Sharp and Thomas Vanek. Oh, and I’m sure Jonathan Toews will play himself into the mix, too.
DEFENSEMEN: The league leader in points for a blue liner, John Klingberg, is an obvious choice. It’s hard to say who will join him considering how many quality defensemen play in the division. Chicago has Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Nashville has Roman Josi and Shea Weber. Minnesota has Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon. St. Louis has rookie Colton Parayko off to a hot start and Alex Pietrangelo won’t shoot two percent all year. There’s a ton of talent here and only three players can make it. Klingberg seems obvious if he keeps up the scoring and Suter probably makes it, too. That leaves the two Hawks stars competing with a stacked group. Keith would probably have a better chance of making the team if he didn’t miss so much time.
GOALIES: The hottest goalies in the Central have actually been Jake Allen and Reto Berra, although Pekka Rinne seems like an easy choice given that he’s delivering another good season. Corey Crawford’s inconsistent play will make it hard for him to carve out a spot unless he gets on one of his hot streaks soon, which is entirely possible. Still, at this point it seems like Rinne will be the prime option.
Okay, so here’s what I’d go with for now:
Benn-Seguin-Klingberg (The All-Stars line! GET IT!?!!?!?!??!?! )
MacKinnon-Kane-Suter
Toews-Tarasenko-Josi
Rinne-Allen
And, now, I know Toews probably hasn’t been the third-best center in the division this year, but I expect his performance to improve and he’s still one of the most recognizable stars in the game. If it ends up being a tough choice between him and someone like Little, who’s having a very good season, one imagines the league would prefer to have the legendary captain from the reigning Stanley Cup champion.
Anyway, I think the format is a fine change since the past alternatives weren’t exactly amazing. What do you guys think about turning the ASG into a big 3-on-3 tourney?