NHL cancels 2026 All-Star Game, will hold 'kickoff' event before Olympics

The NHL won't hold a formal NHL All-Star weekend at UBS Arena in 2026, commissioner Gary Bettman announced Tuesday, according to Newsday's Andrew Gross.

The plan initially was to hold the All-Star weekend in February before sending participating players off to Milan for the 2026 Olympics. However, the NHL will now hold a "kickoff" event before the Winter Games.

"We'll have an event at UBS before we go to the Olympics, but then we'll do something that's more focused on a major hockey event for the following year," Bettman said. "We have a little bit of time to finalize what we're doing."

It's unclear what the event will entail, but Bettman indicated it wouldn't be a hockey competition.

UBS Arena opened in 2021 and is home to the New York Islanders.

"We look forward to working with the league on any event that will showcase our world class facility, UBS Arena," the Islanders said in a statement.

Bettman said in March he was re-evaluating the All-Star Game format following the success of February's 4 Nations Face-Off. The intensity of the tournament took a rigorous toll on the players.

The NHL plans to participate in international tournaments in even years moving forward, with commitments made to the 2026 and 2030 Olympics, as well as a midseason World Cup in 2028. That leaves openings for All-Star Games to held biennially in 2027, 2029, and 2031.

The 2026 Olympics will be the first to include NHLers since 2014. The 4 Nations, which Canada won, was the first best-on-best international hockey competition since the 2016 World Cup.