Injured New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes won’t be able to play in this week’s NHL All-Star Game, but it gave his teammate an opportunity.
Devils forward Jesper Bratt will be making his first appearance, and the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal will take Hughes’ place in the skills competition. Barzal won the fastest skater event in 2020.
Hughes is the third All-Star to be unable to play because of injury.
Chicago Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard, 18, who would have been the youngest All-Star in NHL history, suffered a broken jaw on Jan. 5, a day after he was announced as his team’s representative. The team said on the 10th that he had surgery and would be out six to eight weeks, a timeline that extends well beyond the Feb. 1-3 All-Star weekend.
The league announced early last week that the Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor and New York Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck would replace Bedard and injured Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel. Both will be making their second All-Star appearances.
The pool of 44 All-Stars has been named, barring further injuries. The league selected one player from every team, and a fan vote determined the final eight skaters and four goaltenders. The NHL also announced the four captains and the celebrities, including Justin Bieber, who will help them draft the 11-player teams. The 12 players taking part in the revamped skills competition also have been named.
Here are the captains and the players for the Feb. 1-3 All-Star weekend:
Who are the captains at the NHL All-Star Game?
Team Matthews will be captained by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly serving as assistant captain and Justin Bieber serving as the celebrity captain. Team Matthews will wear blue NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team McDavid will be captained by Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid, with Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl serving as assistant captain and Will Arnett serving as celebrity captain. Team McDavid will wear white NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team MacKinnon will be captained by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, with Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar serving as assistant captain and Tate McRae serving as the celebrity captain. Team MacKinnon will wear yellow NHL All-Star jerseys.
Team Hughes will be co-captained by Hughes and his older brother, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, with Michael Bublé serving as the celebrity captain. Jack Hughes still plans to go to Toronto and help choose the team. Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson was added Tuesday as an assistant captain. Team Hughes will wear red NHL All-Star jerseys.
Which NHL All-Stars were voted in by fans?
Skaters
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1,393,578 votes
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, 1,065,367
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, 976,716
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, 967,975
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, 946,154
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, 839,215
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, 830,480
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, 762,378
Goaltenders
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, 1,398,699
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, 712,100
Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado Avalanche, 584,071
Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, 578,739
Which players did the NHL name to the All-Star Game?
Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames
Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks*
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets
Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Cam Talbot, Los Angeles Kings
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils*
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights*
Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
*-injured. Bedard, Eichel and Jack Hughes are being replaced by the Jets’ Kyle Connor, Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck and Devils’ Jesper Bratt.
When and where is the 2024 NHL All-Star Game?
All-Star weekend will be Feb. 1-3 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. The first night features captains drafting their teams (6 p.m. ET, ESPN). The skills competition is on Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the 3-on-3 All-Star Game is on Feb. 3 (3 p.m. ET, ABC).
Who will take part in the NHL All-Star skills competition?
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders*
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks**
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks**
*-replacing injured Jack Hughes. **-voted in by fans
Who are the coaches for the NHL All-Star Game?
The NHL named Peter Laviolette (Rangers), Jim Montgomery (Bruins), Rick Bowness (Jets) and Rick Tocchet (Canucks) as All-Star Game coaches. Those four were leading their respective divisions in winning percentage at the halfway point of the season. Laviolette is coaching for the fourth time, Montgomery and Tocchet their second and Bowness is making his All-Star coaching debut.