Captains named; who teams with Bieber?
The NHL named the four captains for the All-Star Game, plus the celebrities who will help them draft their players.
One pairing will be superstar entertainer and Toronto mega-fan Justin Bieber with Maple Leafs forward Austin Matthews, the NHL’s leading goal scorer.
The NHL is returning to the format of having team captains pick the 11-player teams in a draft, which will occur two days before the All-Star Game.
The pool of 44 All-Stars has been named. The league selected one player per team, and a fan vote determined the final eight skaters and four goaltenders. Fans also chose the final two participants in the skills competition.
The captains and who made the roster for the Feb. 1-3 All-Star weekend:
Who are the captains?
Team Matthews will be captained by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly serving as assistant captain and Justin Bieber serving as the celebrity captain. Team Matthews will wear blue NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team McDavid will be captained by Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid, with Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl serving as assistant captain and Will Arnett serving as celebrity captain. Team McDavid will wear white NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team MacKinnon will be captained by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, with Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar serving as assistant captain and Tate McRae serving as the celebrity captain. Team MacKinnon will wear yellow NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team Hughes will be co-captained by New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes and his older brother, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, with Michael Bublé serving as the celebrity captain. Team Hughes will wear red NHL All-Star jerseys.
Which All-Stars were voted in by fans?
Skaters
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1,393,578 votes
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, 1,065,367
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, 976,716
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, 967,975 Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, 946,154
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, 839,215 Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, 830,480
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, 762,378
Goaltenders
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, 1,398,699
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, 712,100
Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado Avalanche, 584,071
Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, 578,739
Which Eastern Conference players were named to the NHL All-Star Game?
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers (replaces injured Jack Eichel) Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
Note: Jenner (broken jaw) was activated from the injured list on Friday. Hughes (upper body) is week-to-week, but he was named to take part in the skills competition. New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin asked not to go because he and his wife are expecting their second child.
Which Western Conference players were named to the NHL All-Star Game?
Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets (replaces injured Connor Bedard)
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Cam Talbot, Los Angeles Kings Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Note: Bedard is out six to eight weeks after jaw surgery, a timeline that is expected to keep him from being the youngest All-Star in NHL history. But video from NBC Sports Chicago showed him on the ice on Jan. 15 after practice. He was wearing a face shield and a green no-contact jersey.
Oettinger and Kaprizov, who were hurt at the time of the initial announcement, have returned to action.
When and where is the 2024 NHL All-Star Game?
All-Star weekend will be Feb. 1-3 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. The first night features captains drafting their teams (6 p.m. ET, ESPN). The revamped skills competition is on Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the 3-on-3 All-Star Game is on Feb. 3 (3 p.m. ET, ABC).
Who will take part in the NHL All-Star skills competition?
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks* J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks*
*voted in by fans
Who are the coaches?
The NHL named Peter Laviolette (Rangers), Jim Montgomery (Bruins), Rick Bowness (Jets) and Rick Tocchet (Canucks) as All-Star Game coaches. Those four were leading their respective divisions in winning percentage at the halfway point of the season. Laviolette is coaching for the fourth time, Montgomery and Tocchet their second and Bowness is making his All-Star coaching debut.