Pavel Bure is excited about the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (5 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports). He says he can't wait to see the new 3-on-3 format in action.
"The NHL always tries to be creative and changes things around when it comes to the All-Star Game," Bure said in his latest blog on NHL.com/ru. "The League wants to make sure that the fans enjoy watching it."
This year, for the first time, the League is going to a four-team, division-based format for the game that will feature three 3-on-3 games of 20 minutes each. Each division roster will feature 11 players and the winning team will take home $1 million.
"The 3-on-3 [format] will create more scoring chances and also more opportunities for the goalies to showcase their skills," said Bure, who played in seven All-Star Games during his career.
The game is preceded by the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports).
"I am looking forward to the skills competition as well," Bure said. "I can't wait to see who will be crowned the fastest skater. Unfortunately I never got to win this title myself. But the new generation of players is bigger and faster. It's impossible to predict who is going to win this year."
Whenever All-Star Weekend rolls around, Bure says he thinks about all the memories he forged during his appearances in the games.
"My most memorable All-Star Game out of the seven I was lucky to be a part of was the 50th All-Star Game in Toronto where I played on the same line with my brother [Valerie Bure] and won the MVP title."
Bure, who scored 437 goals and 779 points during a 12-year NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers, will make regular contributions to NHL.com/ru.
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