NHL changes All-Star Game to 3-on-3 tourney

The NHL officially announced Wednesday that it is making significant changes to the format of the league’s annual All-Star Game starting with this year’s game on Jan. 31 in Nashville. The biggest difference is that the All-Star Game won’t be a game at all. Instead it will be a three-game 3-on-3 tournament pitting the best players from each division against each other, as previously reported.

Perhaps spurred by the louder cries of boredom following last year’s particularly putrid 17-12 game, or maybe the worse television ratings, the league is taking a drastic step to boost interest.

Last year’s game had 1.2 million viewers tune into NBC Sports Network for the game broadcast in the U.S. That was down 14 percent from the 2012 All-Star Game. They were down in Canada, too. Don’t forget that the 2013 All-Star Game was wiped out by the lockout and there was no game in 2014 due to the Olympics. The lack of consistency might have played some role, too.

Now the league is trying to capitalize on a widely popular change they made in real games –shifting to a 3-on-3 overtime period. The question becomes, however, how does a game that was already wide open benefit from creating more open ice when the players aren’t going to go full speed?

That’s what the new tournament format may correct. They’re giving players a reason to compete. Some pride might be on the line, but more than that, they’re actually going to pay out the winners this year.

Here’s five key things to know about the new All-Star Weekend.

The NHL unveiled its new All-Star Game format for 2016. (USATSI)

1. The official format

So here’s how this thing will work. The four teams will be made up of players from their respective divisions. So there will be Team Atlantic, Team Metropolitan, Team Central and Team Pacific. The first two games of the tournament will feature Pacific vs. Central and Metropolitan vs. Atlantic. The winner of those games will battle in the championship later that day.

Each team will be comprised of 11 players — six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies. The top vote-getter from each division will be named captain for his respective divisional team. The NHL’s Hockey Operations Department will be responsible for naming the rest of the rosters. All 30 teams will have representation in the All-Star tournament with a total of 44 players participating. Additionally, each team will be coached by the head coach of the first-place team from each division as of Jan. 9.

Each game will be 20 minutes long, with the teams changing ends at the 10-minute mark of each game. So the whole thing shouldn’t last a lot longer than your regular all-star game. If any of the games end the 20 minutes in a tie, a shootout will be held.

Here’s the big twist to the tournament format: There will be a cash prize of $1 million to be split among the 11 players on the team that wins the 3-on-3 title. That breaks down to more than $90,900 per player. Not too shabby.

2. The Fantasy Draft is sadly no more

There was something oddly compelling about separating NHL players into two teams, picking captains and letting them start selecting players like has been done on schoolyards and ponds for years. Throw in a little backstage alcohol and things got even more interesting.

However, after three years, an awkwardly waiting Phil Kessel and a tipsy Alex Ovechkin, the Fantasy Draft is dead. According to multiple reports, it was the players who wanted to see it gone. Apparently they didn’t enjoy giving fans a glimpse of their personality?

So that fun thing is dead. The ratings weren’t incredible anyway with the draft being held on a Friday night. We’ll miss it, though. So will Alex Ovechkin.

3. What happens to the Skills Competition?

This sounds like it will basically be the same. The Skills Competition will still be East vs. West and will be held on Saturday evening of All-Star Weekend. The conference that wins the Skills Competition, however, will be able to select if they will play their divisional semifinal first or second on Sunday. The advantage is probably to play first and get some rest, if they really care about strategy and/or $90,900

4. Is there enough of an incentive for the players to show up and actually try?

The money has to help at least a little, but this game usually features the league’s richest players as it is.

The players still have to weigh going all out in an exhibition against continuing to increase their earning potential by playing in regular-season games and not getting themselves hurt. Odds are the money moves the needle just a bit for the players’ competitiveness. They’re not going to go out there and take big risks just for the payday.

However, going from zero competitiveness and effort to at least a little might be enough to make for more compelling games. That seems to be what the league is banking on. They’ve really done all they can to try to promote a better product by giving more of an incentive to top players to show up and perform.

The 3-on-3 format is going to leave a ton of open ice and the players’ regular teams probably don’t want to see their best players over-exerting themselves. As long as they give the fans a good show and no one gets hurt, everyone will likely be a lot happier coming out of this game than they were last year.

5. Is this the All-Star Game’s last chance at relevance?

I remember watching All-Star Games in the early and mid-1990s and just being enthralled by what I was seeing. From the skills competition to the actual game, I was glued to the TV from start to finish. I was also eight.

There’s no question that the appeal of the game is dwindling. There’s so little incentive to watch. Sure, there might be a few cool plays here and there, but a 17-12 hockey game takes forever. By goal 10 you’re kind of hoping they just start passing the puck back and forth and let the clock run out.

If this new format doesn’t work and a lot of that is really dependent on the players, the league may have to consider scrapping the game all together. The whole purpose is to celebrate the sport and league, celebrate the players and make a very serious game not so serious for once. The 3-on-3 format should keep it light, the money will make it slightly more competitive and the rest is going to be up to the broadcasters to put on a good show for the folks at home with new camera angles and mic’d up players and whatever else they can add.

This may be the league’s best shot at saving an annual weekend that should be another of its shining events like the Winter Classic and Stadium Series. It has potential at least.

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