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The Islanders will host an event at UBS Arena in February 2026.
Whether that event is an All-Star Game, well, that’s not quite so clear anymore.
“We’re reevaluating how we want to do things because I think we’ve raised the bar about as high as you can for an All-Star Game in any sport,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters Wednesday at the league’s annual GM meetings in Manalapan, Fla. “So we want to make sure whatever we do is up to the standards that we’ve created.”
In other words, this February’s 4 Nations Face-Off was so good that going back to the prior All-Star format — with a skills competition followed the next day by a three-on-three tournament in which nobody tries — would feel small by comparison.
That is only exacerbated by next year’s All-Star weekend being a precursor to the Milan Olympics, with NHL players going for the first time since 2014.
The last time the NHL held an All-Star Game in the same year they sent players to the Olympics was in 2002.
Doing so this time was meant to be a sendoff of sorts.
Though the weekend functions as a tentpole event for the league and is well-liked by sponsors, it was hard not to notice the contrast drawn between the 4 Nations and the NBA’s All-Star weekend last month, when the NHL was universally applauded for creating a high-level competition, while the NBA put on a snooze-fest of a traditional game that included LeBron James pulling out at the last minute.
The Islanders, though, already have started advertising next year’s All-Star Game, including to season ticket holders as a reason to renew.
Getting to host events like this was a selling point behind building UBS Arena, and it is a chance to show off the building to the entire league.
It does not sound like canceling the event altogether is in the cards, though deputy commissioner Bill Daly repeated to reporters that “Everything’s on the table” — including shifting it to 2027.
Since players are flying into New York before catching charters to Milan, there’s reason to hold something. But the exact details of what that something would be, if not an All-Star Game, are far from obvious.
One idea would be to somehow incorporate national teams into the event and try to take advantage of the hype that will surround the Olympics.
Given the juice around 4 Nations, a USA-Canada exhibition at UBS would likely draw far more attention and eyeballs than any other option.
“I don’t want to start speculation,” Bettman said. “We’ve promised the Islanders an event, and Islander fans deserve events that we’ve promised, so we’re focused on what we need to do.”
