FILE - Fans wait to enter the new UBS Arena for the first New York Islanders NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, on Nov. 20, 2021, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
NHL to hold an international event at UBS Arena in 2026 in place of All-Star Weekend, AP source says
The NHL is planning an international event at UBS Arena next February in lieu of the previously announced All-Star Weekend at the home of the New York Islanders, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday.
FILE - Fans wait to enter the new UBS Arena for the first New York Islanders NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, on Nov. 20, 2021, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
The NHL is planning an international event at UBS Arena next February in lieu of the previously announced All-Star Weekend at the home of the New York Islanders, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced its plans for the weekend before the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Commissioner Gary Bettman has that the league has been rethinking what to do about the event after the earlier this year. The thought was always to use New York as a jumping off point for Milan, with players leaving from there to for the first time since 2014.
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鈥淲e know we鈥檝e set the bar high, which should be a good thing, not a problem,鈥 Bettman said last week at a meeting of Associated Press Sports Editors in New York. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make sure we do something. ... We鈥檒l have an event at UBS before we go to the Olympics. But then we鈥檒l do something that鈥檚 more focused on a major hockey event for the following year.鈥
At his news conference wrapping up last month, Bettman said: “We鈥檙e reevaluating how we want to do things because I think we鈥檝e raised the bar about as high as you can for an all-star game in any sport. And so we want to make sure whatever we do is up to the standards that we鈥檝e created.鈥
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she wrote a letter to Bettman expressing her disappointment about the decision to hold a Winter Olympics kickoff event in place of All-Star Weekend, adding it was made without consulting with the state and requesting the league 鈥渂ring a hockey event with equal or greater economic activity and cultural value to the region in 2027.鈥
That could quite easily be an All-Star Weekend or something of the sort at UBS Arena, since nothing else has been confirmed as of now. The 4 Nations tournament featuring teams representing the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland drawing sellout crowds and stellar ratings has the NHL considering different options for midseason festivities and even made the NBA contemplate doing something involving international play.
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AP Assistant Sports Editor Jake Seiner in New York contributed to this report.
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