EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews went head-to-head on Tuesday in Edmonton, with McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers defeating Matthews’ Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2.
The next time the two elite centers meet, it will be at the new-look NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook as part of 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto from Feb. 1-3.
Unlike previous All-Star Games, this year’s Skills event will feature 12 participants vying for a $1 million prize.
“You’re taking 12 of the best players in the world,” McDavid said Tuesday. “I think they’re all going to be pretty great at everything.”
Two of the other 10 participants will be McDavid’s teammate Leon Draisaitl and Matthews’ teammate William Nylander. The others expected to participate are Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. The final two players will be voted in via the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Fan Vote presented by MassMutual, which is open online at NHL.com/vote and via X (formerly Twitter) and closes on Thursday at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. All X votes will be combined with online vote totals.
Each of the 12 will compete in four of the first six events: the Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater, Rogers NHL Hardest Shot, Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling, Tim Hortons NHL One Timers, Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge and Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting. First place will be worth five points, second place four points and so on.
The top eight will advance to the seventh event: the Honda (U.S.) / Hyundai (Canada) NHL One-On-One Shootout. The top six will advance to the final event: the Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course. The event will include all the skills, and it will be worth double the points. First place will be worth 10 points, second place eight points and so on.
“I’m looking forward to it,” McDavid said. “I think after last year, everybody agreed a change was in order. I think crowning just one Skill champions with a little bit of money on the line it should make it a little more entertaining a little more competitive, hopefully.”
The All-Star Skills will take place at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, ESPN, ESPN+).
“I think it’s cool,” Matthews said Tuesday. “It’s obviously different. I think the one that’s been kind of going on got a little bit stale, so it’s never bad thing to switch it up.”
McDavid will be participating in his seventh All-Star weekend. He’s eighth in the NHL in scoring with 58 points (16 goals, 42 assists) in 38 games.
Matthews is participating in his fifth All-Star weekend. He leads the NHL with 34 goals.
Each player has their own individual strengths and will be favored in the event which caters to them, but it will be the player who is best all-around that will take the top prize.
“You don’t get that very much especially the way the world has gone with best-on-best tournaments,” McDavid said. “So, the only place to gather the best in the world is the All-Star game.”
In addition to the new Skills format, the player draft will return as part of a new event: NHL All-Star Thursday.
Celebrities will be paired with captains for the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft (6 p.m. ET; SN, ESPN). They will pick the four teams of 11 players (nine skaters, two goalies) for the NHL All-Star Game.
The NHL Alumni Association will announce its Man of the Year in a tribute to the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs, their last team to win the Stanley Cup (SN). The Professional Women's Hockey League will also play a 3-on-3 game (SN, ESPN+).
After the Skills competition on Feb. 2, the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/Scotiabank (Canada) NHL All-Star Game will take place Feb. 3, and will be available on ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC and TVAS.
Tickets to the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook are available at Ticketmaster Verified Resale, the official resale partner of the NHL. In addition, tickets to the 2024 Hyundai NHL Fan Fair, the official fan festival of the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend, are available for purchase at NHL.com/FanFair while supplies last. NHL All-Star Thursday is open to the public and tickets are available here.
