NHL Adds Two New Events To All-Star Weekend

The 2022 NHL All-Star Game is scheduled for this weekend in Las Vegas and the NHL has announced two new events that will be held during the festivities. The viewership for the NHL All-Star Game has declined three years in a row before deciding not to host an All-Star Game last season due to the ongoing pandemic, and in an effort to bring the event back to prominence, the league is introducing some new events and bringing back a fan-favorite.

The NHL will be bringing back The Breakaway Challenge for the first time since 2016. NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer explains the reasoning behind bringing the event back after a 5-year hiatus:

To sort of remind everyone what that was, that's where players got creative in a shootout format. They put on costumes. They did trick shots. They showed off their personality. We figured, 'We're in Vegas. Where else would something like this work so well?' And so, we lobbied to bring it back, and everybody said, 'Of course.'

One of the two new events being added this year is the Fountain Face-Off, where players will be isolated on a platform and will have to shoot pucks at targets in front of the world-famous Bellagio Luxury Resort & Casino. Mayer highlights the stunning backdrop as one of the main features of the brand new event, which looks absolutely stunning:

The @NHL announced the details of the 2022 NHL #AllStar Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, highlighted by two new events – the @Discover NHL Fountain Face-Off at the Fountains of Bellagio & the Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22 on the Boulevard.

Details: https://t.co/1qbuunp5DW pic.twitter.com/FkGfbXZsPg
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 31, 2022

In the next event called '21 in '22, players will stand on Las Vegas Boulevard and shoot at 52 oversized playing cards, playing a game of blackjack with their sticks, essentially.

The fact that the NHL is attempting to put some creativity into their product is a good sign as the NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition used to be must-see television for hockey fans. Hopefully, these additions along with the Verizon NHL Fastest Skater, Dunkin' NHL Save Streak, EA NHL Hardest Shot, Adidas NHL Breakaway Challenge and Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting, make this year's event one of the best fans have seen in a long time.