The 2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition could look slightly different compared to previous years.
The league is working on making some changes that would see it become less of a team event and more of a showcase of the players’ individual skills, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during the Headlines segment Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
One potential tweak could come in the shooting accuracy event. The league is considering adding a fifth target in the five-hole area and using some type of sensor in each target to dictate where a player must shoot — in previous years players could choose to shoot at whichever target they desired.
The league is in the process of testing out a number of changes.
“I know they’re excited about it but they don’t want to say anything about the kinds of stuff they’re going to unveil until they’ve tested it and they’re comfortable with it,” Friedman said.
Another change we might see is in the relay race to give players more of an opportunity to show off their nifty puck-handling skills, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
The skills competition and all-star game take place on Jan. 27 and 28, respectively, in Tampa Bay, Fla.
[relatedlinks]
