† Ovechkin was replaced by Kuznetsov due to a lower-body injury. Pacific Division Head coach: Darryl Sutter, Los Angeles Kings Metropolitan Division Head coach: Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals Ĭentral Division Head coach: Lindy Ruff, Dallas Stars Ītlantic Division Head coach: Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers To replace Ovechkin's captaincy, John Tavares was awarded the "C". Injury replacements were announced on January 28, 2016, with Evgeny Kuznetsov replacing teammate Ovechkin, who was out with a lower-body injury, and James Neal replacing Jonathan Toews, who was out due to illness. On January 21, 2016, the NHL announced the addition of country music stars Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, and Chris Young as celebrity coaches to each team Amy Grant replaced Kelley before the game. The coaches with each distinction included: Gerard Gallant (Florida Panthers) for the Atlantic Division, Lindy Ruff (Dallas Stars) for the Central Division, Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles Kings) for the Pacific Division, and Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals) for the Metropolitan Division. The coaches for each division's team were determined by the teams with the highest point percentage in each division following the completion of games on January 9, 2016. The rest of the rosters were revealed on January 6, 2016, with each of the NHL's 30 teams being represented by at least one player at the time the rosters were set (Arizona, whose lone All-Star was Scott, would ultimately not be represented).
John's IceCaps the trade was expected to make him ineligible to serve as captain in the All-Star Game, but the NHL announced shortly after the trade that he would be permitted to participate as a free agent for the Pacific Division. Scott was traded out of the Pacific Division and demoted out of the league on Januin a move that sent Scott to the Montreal Canadiens, who in turn assigned him to the American Hockey League's St. Despite this, both Scott and the NHL honoured the results. The situation was compared to Rory Fitzpatrick's All Star campaign in 2007, in which fans vote for a player who would not conventionally be chosen as an All-Star. Scott received the most votes of any player, despite having only recorded one point in 11 games played with the Coyotes (Scott spent much of the season in the AHL, or as a healthy scratch) and scoring five goals in his entire career up to that point. Jagr was selected to lead the Atlantic, along with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan), Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks (Central) and John Scott of the Arizona Coyotes (Pacific). įollowing weeks of fan voting, the four captains were announced on January 2, 2016. Girgensons also stated that he did not believe that he deserved an All Star spot this year since he only recorded four points up to that point in the season. įlorida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr tried to get fans to not vote for him at age 43, he stated that he preferred to rest during the All-Star break rather than play in the 3-on-3 format. For example, the fan votes in the 2015 All-Star Game were dominated by Chicago Blackhawks players and Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, who was voted in following a heavy campaign in his native country of Latvia. This change was likely due to recent exploitation of the older method. Voting determined the captains of each division, with the condition the player plays in the division they captain.
Fan voting was altered to match the new divisional format. National Hockey League staff and associates voted internally to determine the rosters. The winners of the two semi-final games played in a championship game to determine the winner of the competition. Each game was played in two 10-minute halves, and went directly to a shootout in the event of a tie. On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced significant changes to the All-Star Game format, replacing the previous two-team format with a 3-on-3 tournament between All-Star teams representing the league's four divisions the Atlantic division played the Metropolitan, while the Central played the Pacific.