NHL radically changes format for all-star game

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin might get the thrill of being picked No. 1 all over again.

No, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals aren’t losing their superstar captains, but Crosby or Ovechkin could be selected first when the NHL All-Star game gets a makeover unlike any other.

Call it hockey’s version of a school yard pickup game.

The NHL announced Wednesday that it is switching from the conference-vs.-conference format it has used for years to a player draft conducted by the All-Stars, in which captains selected by the players will determine the teams.

“We know what the All-Star game is and we know what it isn’t,” said Brendan Shanahan, an eight-time All-Star who is now the NHL’s vice president of hockey and business development. “We’re not trying to make it anything other than a great, entertaining and fun event for the players.”

After a one-year hiatus because of the Olympics, NHL All-Star festivities will return during the last weekend of January with the Carolina Hurricanes serving as host.

Fans will continue to vote via electronic ballots from a list of 100 players, but their votes will only determine the first six All-Stars. The remaining 36 players will be chosen by the NHL’s hockey operations department.

Two captains will then be chosen, and they will draft the rest of the players to their yet-to-be-named teams.

Fans will vote for team of All-Stars by selecting three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie. In addition to the 100 players on the ballot, fans will also be able to vote for write-in candidates.

There will be 42 players picked overall, with each team consisting of 12 forwards, six defensemen, and three goalies.

“It would be cool. It’s a little bit different look than the East-West, something new,” Crosby said. “It would probably make it a little more competitive.”

Crosby is already weighing the pros and cons of being a captain.

“It would be fun, but it would be a little bit of pressure. Guys would all want to be picked,” he said. “You’d have a pretty good pool to pick from, though.”