| UBS Arena, Elmont | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game canceled due to 2026 Winter Olympics. Alternative festivities will be held in its place to celebrate those players going to the Olympics. | |||
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The 2026 National Hockey League All-Star Game was to be the 69th edition of the National Hockey League All-Star Game, planned to be held in early 2026 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, the home of the New York Islanders. On April 29, 2025, the NHL announced that it canceled the game and will instead hold a kickoff event for the 2026 Winter Olympics. [1]
The NHL awarded the Islanders as the game's hosts on February 18, 2024, during the 2024 NHL Stadium Series. This game would have been the first time since 1994 in New York City that the state of New York hosted the game. This would have been the Islanders' second time hosting the NHL All-Star Game, after the 1983 game at the Nassau Coliseum, and the first time that UBS Arena would have hosted the game, after its opening during the 2021–22 season. [2]
The All-Star Game would have returned after a one-year hiatus, as in 2025 the NHL held the 4 Nations Face-Off as a preview for the league's return to Olympic participation at the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, as well as the next World Cup of Hockey in 2028. [3] This edition of the All-Star Game would have been the first held in the same year as Olympic participation since 2002. Commissioner Gary Bettman further stated that the league planned to use the 2026 game as a "send-off" to the Olympics. [2] But by April 2025, the league decided to cancel the game and instead hold alternative festivities to celebrate the players going to the Olympics. [1]
The NHL will not hold an All-Star Game next season... Commissioner Bettman also announced the NHL will return to Olympic participation, starting in 2026 in Milan, Italy, and again in 2030... Bettman said the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-off is a 'bit of an appetizer,' for the upcoming Olympics and subsequent World Cup tournament