It looks like the NHL’s top players will be heading to Florida for next season’s All-Star Weekend.
According to multiple reports, including Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy blog, the Tampa Bay Lightning will host the 2018 festivities.
The NHL has not made the official announcement, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote the following in Tuesday’s edition of 30 Thoughts, which supports the idea that it’s Tampa:
“One of the reasons some people still hold out hope for Olympic participation is that no All-Star Game has been set for next season. However, it does sound like there are plans for one. At this past season’s All-Star Weekend, it was believed the next one would be held in a Western Conference city, but there are rumblings the league went southeast instead. It will be announced with the full schedule.”
The league typically releases the regular season schedule in mid-June, after the Stanley Cup is hoisted.
If the rumours are true, this won’t be Tampa’s first stint as All-Star hosts. The home of the Lightning landed the event back in 1999.
Back in December, the Tampa Bay Times reported that league representatives had visited Tampa Bay in a search for potential sites for NHL events, including the All-Star Game, NHL Draft, and outdoor games.
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