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NHL All-Star Weekend still planned for Las Vegas

Updated December 22, 2021 - 10:34 am

The NHL officially pulled out of the Winter Olympics on Wednesday, but All-Star Weekend at T-Mobile Arena is still expected to take place.

A league spokesperson said there was no change to the status of the event. The skills competition will take place Feb. 4 and will be televised on ESPN. The All-Star Game, a three-on-three tournament among the four divisions, will take place Feb. 5 and will be shown on KTNV-13. The original plan was for players to participate and have those going to the Winter Games fly to Beijing from Las Vegas.

The news means the Golden Knights can plan on hosting their first high-profile NHL event since their expansion draft. The league is expected to take advantage of the Las Vegas location, with outdoor activities possibly taking place on Las Vegas Boulevard as part of the skills competition.

There also will be a fan festival from Feb. 3 to 6 at Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall featuring interactive games, a kids zone, appearances by NHL alumni and mascots, memorabilia and trophy displays and other activities.

Rosters have not been announced, but five Knights players — left wing Max Pacioretty, center Chandler Stephenson, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and right wings Mark Stone and Reilly Smith — are on the ballot for Pacific Division captain.

The league and NHL Players’ Association agreed not to go to the Olympics after numerous COVID-19 outbreaks. The NHL has postponed 50 games and moved its annual holiday break up two days.

Teams are off Wednesday through Saturday and can return to their facilities Sunday. Games resume Monday.

The NHL hasn’t been to an Olympics since 2014. Players made participation a priority when negotiating a collective bargaining agreement extension in 2020. The NHL, NHLPA and International Ice Hockey Federation reached a deal in September that cleared the path to Beijing, but it allowed the sides to back out if conditions were deemed unsafe.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement the league waited as long as possible to make a decision, but the postponed games meant “Olympic participation is no longer feasible.” The NHL will use its planned Olympic break from Feb. 6 to 22 to reschedule games.

NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said in a statement he expects players to participate in 2026.

Numerous Knights probably would have participated in the Olympics. Coach Pete DeBoer and assistant Misha Donskov were on Team Canada’s coaching staff, and Pietrangelo was one of three players named to the roster. Other hopefuls included Stone (Canada), Pacioretty (U.S.), center William Karlsson (Sweden), defenseman Shea Theodore (Canada), right wing Evgenii Dadonov (Russian Olympic Committee), right wing Jonas Rondbjerg (Denmark) and left wing Sven Baertschi (Switzerland). Only Pacioretty and Pietrangelo have played in an Olympics.

Goaltender Robin Lehner (Sweden) previously said he wouldn’t go to the Olympics, citing mental health concerns.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.

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