NHL getting rid of ‘Breakaway Challenge’ at skills competition

The Hockey Night in Canada panel discuss Kris Letang’s injury, Andrew Shaw’s return to the Montreal Canadiens and Shane Doan possibly waving his no-trade clause.

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition will be doing away with one of the more flashy events in Los Angeles at the end of the month.

The Breakaway Challenge, first introduced in 2008, has been cut from the list of the events that the players will participate in, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.

“They are getting rid of [the Breakaway Challenge] in the skills competition,” said Kypreos, on Saturday’s Headlines. “No sunglasses, no hats for [Alex Ovechkin], no superman cape for [Patrick] Kane and no mini-sticks for Corey Perry.”

The event has been held six times since the inaugural competition, and it typically includes gimmicky costumes and dekes on goaltenders moving with minimal effort. Ovechkin won the event the first three times it was held while Kane, Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban are the other three victors.

“The only ones disappointed that this stuff is gone are children under nine and Elliotte Friedman,” said Kypreos.

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