2027 All-Star Weekend to have 5 teams skate in 3-on-3 round-robin tournament

There will be a new format in the NHL All-Star Game next year.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association on Tuesday announced changes to the 2027 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend at UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders in Elmont, New York, from Feb. 5-6.

The format will feature five teams -- Canada, Finland, Sweden, United States and World -- competing in a 3-on-3 round-robin exhibition tournament.

The World team will be made up of international players from countries outside of the other four teams.

Each team will play four five-minute games during the round-robin portion and there will not be an overtime period or shootout in the event of a tie. There will be a points system: two points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss, with the top two teams playing a 10-minute final to win a $2 million (USD) prize. 

Each team will have nine skaters and two goalies. The NHL and NHLPA will select 30 players from each of the participating teams for a fan vote, which will open in December. From that list, fans will select eight players from each team. The remaining three -- one forward, one defenseman and one goalie -- will be chosen by the NHL and NHLPA.

The All-Star Skills will also return with 10 players facing off in several of six events (Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Passing Challenge, One Timers, Stick Handling and Accuracy Shooting) with a point system ranking them.

The top four players will advance to a Shootout, facing one of four All-Star goalies, with the top two performers from the Shootout competing in the last event: the Obstacle Course Finale. The player with the highest cumulative score will win $1 million (USD).

The 2027 NHL All-Star Skills will take place Feb. 5 on ESPN in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada, with the game the next night on ABC in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada. Event and game times will be announced in the coming months.

Because of the 2026 Winter Olympics and the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, there has not been an NHL All-Star Game since Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hosted the event in 2024. Players were drafted by Team McDavid, Team Matthews, Team Hughes and Team MacKinnon for two 10-minute periods of 3-on-3 play. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly and William Nylander all contributed on their home ice to lead Team Matthews to a 7-4 win against Team McDavid in the final and a prize of $1 million (USD). Matthews, the Maple Leafs captain, was named Most Valuable Player.

Prior to that, the NHL used a divisional format from 2016 to 2023 with each of the four divisions -- Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific -- in a round-robin tournament