The NHL All-Star Game returns in February 2027 after a two-year absence, and it returns as something it has never been before: a five-nation tournament with eleven games and a $2 million prize.
Here is how the new format works, who picks the teams, and everything the league has not told us yet.
The short version
| Details | |
|---|---|
| What | 2027 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend — the 69th All-Star Game |
| Where | UBS Arena, Elmont, New York (New York Islanders) |
| Skills Competition | Friday, February 5, 2027 — ESPN (US), Sportsnet (Canada) |
| All-Star Game | Saturday, February 6, 2027 — ABC (US), Sportsnet (Canada) |
| Format | Five teams, 3-on-3, round robin plus a final |
| Teams | Canada, United States, Sweden, Finland, World |
| Prize | $2 million to the winning team; $1 million to the Skills champion |
One thing to clear up before anything else: the All-Star Game is on Saturday, February 6. You will find ticket resale sites listing it as Sunday, February 7. That date comes from the NHL’s original October 2025 announcement, which blocked out “Feb. 5, 6 and 7” before the format existed. When the league and the NHLPA revealed the actual format in June 2026, the weekend was fixed at two days. The NHL’s own 2026-27 regular-season schedule — the document all 32 clubs build their calendars around — confirms the break falls on February 5 and 6.
How the new format works
Five national teams play a full round robin, then the top two meet in a final. That is it — and the whole thing fits inside one night.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Teams | 5 — Canada, United States, Sweden, Finland, World |
| Style of play | 3-on-3 |
| Round robin | Each team plays 4 games — 10 games in total |
| Length of each round-robin game | 5 minutes |
| Points | 2 for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss |
| Overtime in the round robin | None. Ties stand. |
| Final | Top two teams on points, 10 minutes |
| Total games | 11 |
| Total game action | 60 minutes |
| Roster size | 11 players — 9 skaters and 2 goaltenders |
| Players involved | 55 |
| Prize | $2 million to the winning team, split among its players |
Five teams each playing four games works out to a complete round robin — every nation meets every other nation exactly once, for ten games. Add the final and you get eleven games in a single evening, with sixty minutes of actual hockey on the clock.
The round robin does not decide the title on its own. It seeds a ten-minute championship game between the top two teams on points.
How the teams are picked
This is where the new All-Star Game differs most from the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics, and it is the part most fans will get wrong.
National federations have nothing to do with it. Hockey Canada, USA Hockey and the Swedish and Finnish federations do not select these rosters. The process is entirely internal to the league:
- The NHL and NHLPA jointly nominate 30 players per team — 150 candidates in all.
- Fans vote, and the vote decides 8 of the 11 players on each roster. Voting opens in December 2026.
- The NHL and NHLPA jointly pick the remaining three per team — one forward, one defenseman and one goaltender.
There is no player vote and no federation approval. The exact dates for the ballot reveal and the final roster announcement have not been published; the league has confirmed only that voting opens in December. Final All-Star rosters have historically been announced in early-to-mid January.
Who plays for the World team — and yes, that includes Russia
The World team is for players from any country outside the other four — Russia, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Austria and the rest.
Russian players are eligible. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed it on the day the format was announced, June 2, 2026. It is the first time Russian players will appear at an NHL international-style event since 2022, and on paper the World team could be built largely around them — NHL.com’s own projected roster, published in July 2026, had six Russians among eleven players, including Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov, Artemi Panarin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.
The Skills Competition is 25-and-under
The biggest surprise in the announcement, and the one that will annoy people most: the 2027 Skills Competition is restricted to players aged 25 or younger.
That rules out Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby and essentially every established star in the league. McDavid won the last Skills Competition held, in 2024, taking four events and the $1 million prize — he cannot defend it.
The format:
- 10 players, all 25 or under, selected jointly by the NHL and NHLPA. No fan vote.
- Eight events. Each player competes in four of the first six: Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Passing Challenge, One Timers, Stick Handling and Accuracy Shooting.
- The top four on cumulative points advance to event seven, a Shootout against All-Star goaltenders.
- The top two from there advance to event eight, an Obstacle Course Finale.
- The champion takes $1 million and a trophy.
Tickets
No public on-sale date and no prices have been announced.
What the Islanders have confirmed is that the only guaranteed route to tickets is a Full Season or Half Season membership. Quarter Season members get priority pre-sale access, which is priority rather than a guarantee. The team is running an interest registration form and a ticket giveaway. Official packages through NHL Experiences are listed as “still to be determined,” with a waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Saturday, February 6, 2027, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The Skills Competition is the night before, Friday, February 5. Some ticket resale sites incorrectly list February 7.
Five national teams — Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland and a World team — play a 3-on-3 round robin of ten five-minute games. Two points for a win, one for a tie. The top two teams advance to a ten-minute final. Eleven games in all, and $2 million to the winners.
Eleven — nine skaters and two goaltenders. Fifty-five players across the five teams.
Yes. Bill Daly confirmed on June 2, 2026, that Russian players are eligible and will play for the World team. It is their first appearance at an NHL international-style event since 2022.
The NHL and NHLPA nominate 30 players per team. Fans then vote to fill eight of the eleven roster spots, with voting opening in December 2026. The league and the union jointly select the remaining three — one forward, one defenseman and one goaltender. National federations play no part.
The 2027 Skills Competition is limited to players aged 25 and under. McDavid, the reigning champion from 2024, is not eligible, and neither are MacKinnon, Ovechkin, Matthews or Crosby.
In the United States, the Skills Competition is on ESPN and the All-Star Game is on ABC. In Canada, both nights are on Sportsnet. No French-language broadcaster has been announced.
The 4 Nations Face-Off replaced it in February 2025. The 2026 season broke for the Milano-Cortina Olympics instead. A separate All-Star Weekend planned for UBS Arena in February 2026 as an Olympic send-off was cancelled in October 2025 and moved to 2027.
