Revamped All-Star Skills aims to bring drama and competition back into event

TORONTO — Sometimes even popular events need a refresh, which is why a decade ago Major League Baseball reacted to growing gripes about its annual Home Run Derby — too long, too complicated, too much drag — and changed the format. 

Moving from a three-round, most-homers competition to a head-to-head bracket structure in 2014 injected much needed intrigue to the power-fest, a marquee piece of the sport’s annual all-star week. Suddenly, the event was easier to follow, more player friendly, with stakes and storylines in each matchup. “The new format is pretty cool,” Jose Bautista, who represented the Toronto Blue Jays under both the old and new systems, said heading in. “I like the whole challenge with the brackets. I think people are going to like it, too.”

They very much did, especially after a tweak in 2015 changed the way rounds were capped — going from outs made to a time limit — which added drama while also helping move things along. In that way, a few deft touches gave the derby its groove back.

The National Hockey League is aiming for a similar outcome this weekend, when a reconfiguration of its All-Star Skills event debuts Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Streamlined to 12 players, simplified to eight events and incentivized by a $1 million prize to the winner (with $100,000 for the best of the eight goalies), it’s a very different event. Out are the kitschy local twists (remember the Fountain Faceoff in Vegas or Pitch ’N Puck in Florida?) and in is a focus on pure hockey skills.

If vision becomes reality, there will be drama and determined competition up until the seven-figure payout is settled.

“I think the previous skills competitions were going a little gimmicky, a little out there,” said Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who embraced the NHL’s desire to reimagine the night. “I’m excited that it’s going to be normal skills that we would use on the ice. That’s ultimately what we want, is to come here and show off our skills and put on a show for the fans.”

The new format is far more straightforward, too.

Twelve competitors — in alphabetical order, Mathew Barzal, Leon Draisaitl, Quinn Hughes, Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Auston Matthews, McDavid, J.T. Miller, William Nylander, David Pastrnak and Elias Pettersson — each take part in four of the first six events, competing for points based on finish.

From there, the top eight skaters advance to the One-on-One, where they pick a goalie to shoot on. After that, the top six compete in the final event, the Obstacle Course, which includes all the skills and is worth double the points, opening the possibility of a last-second comeback.

“With a million bucks on the line, I think you’re going to see some guys giving it pretty good,” said Barzal. “So I’m excited.”

There’s even something for the goalies, who sometimes have been reduced to props on the skills night, thanks to the $100,000 for the netminder with the most saves. 

“Not sure why we’re needed but I’m happy with the change they made where we can actually compete for something,” said Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. “It’s not just going to be take a shot and go, we’re not just Shooter Tutors. I’m pretty excited. Now we can have a little bit of competition and if we’re going to be here, might as well show off our skills.”

That was at the heart of the reset, which Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer and executive vice-president, said began right after last year’s All-Star Game with discussions between McDavid and commissioner Gary Bettman. 

Those conversations (and talks with other stakeholders, centred around the question of “how do we figure out who’s the most skilled player in the NHL,” said Mayer) really got the ball moving.

“A lot of this came after input from Connor and others,” he explained. “We really took that into account. He was awesome. And he was the first line of acceptance. Once we heard that he liked what we were talking about and other players and the NHLPA, we knew we might have something here.”

With the principle of trying to crown the league’s most skilled player in place, the next question became, how to get there. That led to more discussions and eventually events that are tighter, focused and more reflective of the league’s nightly product.

“A lot’s been made saying I was big into it, I was just part of a couple of conversations, like a lot of other guys as well, just on how to make it more entertaining,” said McDavid. “That’s ultimately what we wanted. I think fans are excited about it. I’ve had people reaching out to me, telling me they’re excited. I hope the players like it. I hope the players can have some fun with it and make it competitive.”

The head-to-head element should lock that in and the idea of competing on such a setting had Hellebuyck imagining skills events actually designed for goalies, allowing them to join the fray in a more meaningful way.

“If I really sat down and thought about it, I’d like to see the goalies show off their skills,” he said. “Maybe play, from the movie (She’s Out of My League), Slap Shot Regatta, where a guy just takes a shot in the hash marks and the goalie just stands on the goal-line? That could show off goalies’ reactions. Then there are other parts of the game where it’s very mental, where you’re reading the game, so you can design something for that for the goalie. But let’s be honest, most people are here to see goals and player skills. So it’d be dominated by them. So this could be a really good turn of events and could bring a fun experience.”

For now, the night offers an opportunity — and big bank — to the skater able to best showcase his abilities across multiple disciplines. 

Players had to be strategic in which of the first six events they opted to participate in, knowing one bad round could prevent advancement. But the broad range of skills required to win also presents a unique set of bragging rights, a rough measure for totality of ability, if not necessarily the completeness of a skater.

“Complete players, a lot of time, it’s playing in the defensive zone,” said Barzal. “I don’t think there’s really a stick-lifting competition, or a faceoff or a D-zone coverage drill. It’s called a skills competition. Its name speaks for itself and the events are going to be able to show off how high-end the skill is in this league.”

All of which should help rejuvenate the show. 

The skills event a year ago in Florida had dragged, sapping the building of momentum and energy, and while Mayer said, “I don’t think we felt that anything wasn’t working,” the league “looked at it and said, hey, this time we could do something different.”

“We had done that format for many, many years,” Mayer continued. “We do this at every event — how do we make the next one bigger and better than the last one? And in this case, it just started to head in another direction. … We felt, all right, we’re heading to Toronto, a city that loves the NHL, passionate fan base, let’s try something different and this was the perfect place to introduce it.”