NHL Announces the All-Star Game Format Will Switch to a '3-on-3 Tournament'

Let’s be honest: unless you’re a hockey die-hard, you probably had no clue (myself included) that the most-recent format of the 2016 NHL All-Star Game changed from “East vs. West” to a “Fantasy Draft” format — the same thing we saw the NFL do with the Pro Bowl in hopes of resurrecting its relevance.

Well, as of tonight — the NHL has officially scraped this tradition, and moved on to a “3-on-3 tournament”. Before you think it’s just gonna be a different way that a bunch of famous hockey players skate around apathetically and give 5% of the effort they would normally exert during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s some incentive now per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen

"The scoring chances, skill and intensity that have made 3-on-3 overtime a must-see part of the game this season will be on display in a revamped format for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Jan. 31. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced Wednesday that the All-Star Game will be transformed into a 3-on-3 All-Star Tournament comprised of three 20-minute games played by divisional all-star teams competing for a winner-take-all $1 million prize."

As for the logistics of this “Survivor Series” of the ice:

"Each divisional all-star team will have 11 players: six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies. Fans will select one player from each division, without regard for position, in the 2016 NHL All-Star Fan Vote. The players voted in by the fans will also be named captains of their respective team. The remaining 40 all-stars will be named by the NHL Hockey Operations Department. There will be at least one representative from all 30 teams."

Not gonna lie: 3-on-3 hockey is awesome to watch, as every couple of seconds it seems like there’s a dramatic break-a-way … so, this change is kinda cool imo; and if there’s $1 million at stake — you gotta imagine the players are going to try their hardest and make this entertaining (finally). It could fail miserably, yes … but: it can’t get any worse than it was.

Progress!