Changes To Skills Competition Highlights NHL All-Star Weekend

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition this year features a new format, switching from a "team event to an individual event." Each of the six disciplines, such as the hardest shot competition and the fastest skater, will have separate championships. The NHL is "awarding $25,000 to the winner of each event, and effort to further entice the athletes to win the individual titles." The Skills Competition takes place Saturday at Tampa's Amalie Arena ahead of Sunday's All-Star Game (USA TODAY, 1/26).

This is the second time Tampa has hosted the NHL All-Star festivities, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said it is "remarkable how much has changed" since '99. He said, "Think of how much hockey has grown in the area, how far the Lightning organization has advanced -- how bright the future is for the team, for the fans and for the city. Together, Tampa and the Lightning have achieved great things. And Jeff Vinik will continue to set even-loftier standards of excellence in the years ahead" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/26).