61st National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 61st National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 31, 2016 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville , Tennessee , home of the Nashville Predators , making it their first-ever hosting team. In contrast to previous years, the mode of the event was changed significantly, so now four teams corresponding to the divisions played the winner in a kind of tournament. The Pacific Division with its captain and later MVP John Scott won the All-Star Game with victories over the Central Division (9: 6) and the Atlantic Division in the final (1: 0).

mode

In the run-up to the NHL All-Star Games, four teams were formed, each consisting of players from one division. One player from each division was selected by means of a fan vote and also acted as team captain. The other ten players in the eleven-man squad (six forwards, three defenders, two goalkeepers) were determined directly by the NHL, with each of the 30 franchises being represented by at least one player. The coaches who and their teams had the best points average in the respective division (deadline January 9, 2016) were automatically nominated as team bosses.

In the two semifinals, the respective divisions of a conference competed against each other and thus determined the two finalists. Each of the three games was played (based on the newly introduced overtime format ) in 3-on-3 mode over 20 (2 × 10) minutes each. If there is a tie after regular playing time, a shootout follows immediately .

As in previous events, the NHL All-Star Skills Competition was held this year on the day before the actual All-Star Game , in which the players competed against each other in individual competitions.

Fan vote and controversy surrounding John Scott

Jaromír Jágr , Alexander Ovetschkin (later retired due to an injury), Patrick Kane and - surprisingly - John Scott prevailed in the fan vote . The choice of Scott was based on several successful fan campaigns in social networks and was viewed by the media as a joke or mockery of the management of the NHL. Scott himself, who as a classic enforcer in the past seven years and 285 NHL games had 11 points and 542 penalty minutes, said he did not want to be elected to the All-Star team because he did not deserve it; however, he accepted the election (as previously announced). There were similar actions in 2007 for Rory Fitzpatrick and in the previous year for Zemgus Girgensons , although then, as after the election, Scott's fears were voiced that the NHL could completely abolish fan voting.

Less than two weeks after his election, Scott was - just as surprisingly - transferred from the Arizona Coyotes to the Canadiens de Montréal as part of a larger swap . Scott moved from the Pacific to the Atlantic Division and was also transferred to the roster of their farm team by the Canadiens , so it was obvious that Scott should be excluded from the All-Star Game in this way. These rumors were reinforced when a few hours later it became known from inside circles that both the NHL and the Coyotes allegedly tried to get Scott to decline and Scott refused; It was also reported that the Canadiens did not want to sign the defender and instead the Coyotes insisted on including him in the change. The result was a shit storm in the social networks, as a result of which the NHL announced four days after the change that Scott would still lead the Pacific Division as captain.

Squad

Abbreviations:
Nat. = Nationality; Pos. = Position with C = center , LW = left wing , RW = right wing , D = defender , G = goalkeeper
Legend:
* - players who were subsequently nominated as replacements
(R) -  rookies

Atlantic Division Head Coach : Gerard Gallant ( Florida Panthers ) # Nat. player Item team goalkeeper 1 Roberto Luongo G Florida panthers 30th Ben Bishop G Tampa Bay Lightning defender 5 Aaron Ekblad D. Florida panthers 65 Erik Karlsson D. Ottawa Senators 76 PK Subban D. Canadiens de Montréal attacker 37 Patrice Bergeron C. Boston Bruins 47 Leo Komarov C. Toronto Maple Leafs 68 Jaromír Jágr - C. RW Florida panthers 71 Dylan Larkin (R) C. Detroit Red Wings 90 Ryan O'Reilly C. Buffalo Sabers 91 Steven Stamkos C. Tampa Bay Lightning

Metropolitan Division Head Coach : Barry Despite ( Washington Capitals ) # Nat. player Item team goalkeeper 35 Cory Schneider G New Jersey Devils 70 Braden Holtby G Washington Capitals defender 27 Justin Faulk D. Carolina Hurricanes 27 Ryan McDonagh D. New York Rangers 58 Kris Letang D. Pittsburgh Penguins attacker 19th Nicklas Bäckström C. Washington Capitals 28 Claude Giroux C. Philadelphia Flyers 50 Brandon Saad LW Columbus Blue Jackets 71 Yevgeny Malkin C. Pittsburgh Penguins 91 John Tavares - C. C. New York Islanders 92 Yevgeny Kuznetsov * C. Washington Capitals

Central Division Head Coach : Lindy Ruff ( Dallas Stars ) # Nat. player Item team goalkeeper 35 Pekka gutter G Nashville Predators 40 Devan Dubnyk G Minnesota Wild defender 6th Shea Weber D. Nashville Predators 33 Dustin Byfuglien D. Winnipeg Jets 59 Roman Josi D. Nashville Predators attacker 9 Matt Duchene C. Colorado Avalanche 14th Jamie Benn LW Dallas Stars 18th James Neal * RW Nashville Predators 88 Patrick Kane - C. RW Chicago Blackhawks 91 Tyler Seguin C. Dallas Stars 91 Vladimir Tarassenko RW St. Louis Blues

Pacific Division Head Coach : Darryl Sutter ( Los Angeles Kings ) # Nat. player Item team goalkeeper 32 Jonathan Quick G Los Angeles Kings 36 John Gibson (R) G Anaheim Ducks defender 5 Mark Giordano D. Calgary Flames 8th Drew Doughty D. Los Angeles Kings 88 Brent Burns D. San Jose Sharks attacker 4th Taylor Hall LW Edmonton Oilers 8th Joe Pavelski C. San Jose Sharks 10 Corey Perry RW Anaheim Ducks 13 Johnny Gaudreau LW Calgary Flames 22nd Daniel Sedin LW Vancouver Canucks 28 John Scott - C. LW Arizona Coyotes

Subsequent nominees

Two players were originally nominated for the All-Star Game, but subsequently did not take part due to injury. The captaincy in the Metropolitan Division, which Alexander Ovechkin should hold, took over after his refusal John Tavares .

Nat.	Surname	team	Item	replacement
	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	LW	Yevgeny Kuznetsov
	Jonathan Toews	Chicago Blackhawks	C.	James Neal

All-Star Game

game schedule

	Semifinals				final
	Atlantic Division	4th
	Metropolitan Division	3
					Atlantic Division	0
					Pacific Division	1
	Central Division	6th
	Pacific Division	9

Semifinals

January 31, 2016 4.30 p.m. (local time)

Team Atlantic Erik Karlsson (3:47) Jaromír Jágr (9:22) Aaron Ekblad (12:52) PK Subban (15:22)

4: 3 (2: 2, 2: 1) match report

Team Metropolitan Kris Letang (1:01) Yevgeny Kuznetsov (4:16) Yevgeny Malkin (10:25)

Bridgestone Arena , Nashville , Tennessee Spectators: 17,006

January 31, 2016 5.30 p.m.

Team Central James Neal (0:26) James Neal (8:01) Patrick Kane (9:27) Dustin Byfuglien (14:36) Tyler Seguin (14:49) Roman Josi (18:53)

6: 9 (3: 3, 3: 6) match report

Team Pacific John Scott (0:47) Joe Pavelski (5:26) Johnny Gaudreau (8:17) Daniel Sedin (11:49) John Scott (13:27) Taylor Hall (14:04) Daniel Sedin (14:28 ) Taylor Hall (17:44) Drew Doughty (18:45)

final

January 31, 2016 6.40 p.m.

Team Atlantic

0: 1 (0: 0, 0: 1) game report

Team Pacific Corey Perry (13:38)

Skills Competition

The Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition took place on January 30, 2016. The two conferences competed as teams in several small competitions; the Eastern won 29:12 against the Western Conference . Here was Shea Weber the hardest shot from (about 174 km / h), Dylan Larkin was the fastest runner and John Tavares had the präzisesten shot.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New format for Honda NHL All-Star Game announced. nhl.com, November 18, 2015, accessed November 19, 2015 . 
2. ↑ James Mirtle: If fans vote enforcer John Scott into all-star game, NHL says he's going. theglobeandmail.com, December 2, 2015, accessed January 3, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Pat Iversen: The fan vote campaign to make John Scott an NHL All-Star Game captain actually worked. sbnation.com, January 2, 2015, accessed January 3, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Jonathan Willis: Cult of Hockey: Fringe NHL'er John Scott is an All-Star game captain. Good. edmontonjournal.com, January 2, 2015, accessed January 3, 2015 . 
5. ^ Canadiens announced the acquisition of Victor Bartley and John Scott from Arizona. canadiens.nhl.com, January 15, 2016, accessed January 16, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Eric Macramalla: Trade of All-Star John Scott Raises Questions As To Motive & A Possible NHLPA Grievance. Forbes Magazine , January 17, 2016, accessed January 19, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Dustin Nelson: McKenzie: John Scott Was Asked to Bow Out of ASG, Refused. thehockeywriters.com, January 15, 2016, accessed January 19, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Ken Campbell: NHL risks conspiracy theories, grievance with John Scott fiasco. (No longer available online.) Thehockeynews.com, January 15, 2016, archived from the original on January 19, 2016 ; accessed on January 19, 2016 (English). 
9. ^ John Scott was allowed to play in the NHL All-Star Game. cbc.ca, January 19, 2016, accessed on January 19, 2016 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b} Kuznetsov, Neal added to All-Star Game rosters. nhl.com, January 28, 2016, accessed January 28, 2016 . 
11. ↑ Mike Battaglino: East dominates shootout, wins Skills Competition. nhl.com, January 30, 2016, accessed February 1, 2016 .