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The NHL All-Star game takes place on Sunday with a new format that will feature the four divisions taking part in a tournament of 3-on-3 mini-games. The roster has had a couple of changes due to Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews removing themselves from the game. 

Here is a look at the final rosters and everything else you need to know heading into the All-Star weekend. 

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn., home of the Nashville Predators.

When:

  • The All-Star Skills Competition will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
  • The 2016 NHL All-Star Game will start at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The Format: By going with a four-team, 3-on-3 tournament, and needing to have one representative from each of the league’s 30 teams*, the NHL had some significant roster limitations when it came to All-Star Game selections. Each team gets 11 players: two goalies, three defensemen and six forwards. 

The Captains: 

  • Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers (Atlantic Division)
  • John Tavares, New York Islanders (Metropolitan Division)
  • Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (Cenral Division)
  • John Scott (Pacific Division)

The Coaches: 

  • Gerrard Galant, Florida Panthers (Atlantic Division)
  • Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals (Metropolitan Division)
  • Lindy Ruff, Dallas Stars (Central Division)
  • Darryl Sutter, Los Angeles Kings (Pacific Division)

Roberto Luongo will join Jaromir Jagr at the All-Star Game. (USATSI)
Roberto Luongo will join Jaromir Jagr at the All-Star Game. (USATSI)

The Rosters: 

Atlantic Division

Forwards:

Defense:

Goalies:

Instant analysis: This is the year of the Panther in a lot of ways, so it was great to see their team get recognized with the way they have played this season, entering the All-Star weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division. All three Florida player are deserving, too. The Atlantic blue line is going to be great with two of the most exciting talents in the game today in Karlsson and Subban, and a rising star in Ekblad. Up front, rookie Dylan Larkin beat out his famous veteran teammates and adds some much-needed speed to a group that may get exposed in 3-on-3. Sorry, Jags.

Biggest snub: Mike Hoffman (Ottawa Senators) – One of the rising snipers in the NHL, Hoffman has 22 goals on the season, putting him in the top-10 in the entire league. But with every team needing a representative, and the Senators already sending Karlsson, it was always going to be a tough lineup for Hoffman to crack.

Evgeny Kuznetsov is replacing Alex Ovechkin. (USATSI)
Evgeny Kuznetsov is replacing Alex Ovechkin.(USATSI)

Metropolitan Division

Forwards: 

Defense:

Goalies:

Analysis: There’s no doubt which team has the best goaltending tandem in this event. Both Holtby and Schneider have been excellent this season and could be dueling for the Vezina Trophy this year. With Malkin, Tavares and Backstrom this forward crop is especially intriguing, even without Ovechkin on the roster. His replacement, Kuznetsov, was always a deserving player as he not only leads the Capitals in scoring this season but is also one of the top-five scorers in the entire league.

Biggest Snubs: Mike Cammalleri (New Jersey Devils), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) -- Cammalleri has had a tremendous year with the Devils with and enters the All-Star break with 38 points in 42 games. Along with Schneider in net he is one of the biggest reasons the Devils have been able to stay in playoff contention with a roster that was expected to be one of the worst in the league at the start of the season. Crosby had a miserable start to the season, especially in his first 10 games, but has started to play at a Crosby-like level over the past few months. He is now up to 41 points in 47 games and is still one of the most recognizable stars in the league. 

Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn will be in Nashville together for the ASG. (USATSI)
Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn will be in Nashville together for the ASG. (USATSI)

Central Division

Forwards:

Defense:

Goalies:

Analysis: A forward group that features the top three scorers (Kane, Benn and Seguin) in the entire NHL is pretty good, eh? Meanwhile the defense includes Dustin Byfuglien who openly hates 3-on-3 overtime and a pair of highly productive hometown guys in Josi and Weber. Goaltending might be the weakness for this team, but those forwards should make up for it with about a zillion goals.

Biggest Snubs: Corey Crawford (Chicago Blackhawks) and John Klingberg (Dallas Stars) – These might be the two biggest omissions of the All-Star Game and you should have seen it coming. The Predators were bound to get some homer picks on the team and they did. Weber and Josi were likely and Pekka Rinne’s been a star in Nashville for a long time. Klingberg is one of the leadings scorer among defensemen in the league and Crawford, along with being the starting goalie on the defending Stanley Cup champions, has been one of the best goalies in the league this season. The Central is probably the most loaded division in the league and because of that it was bound to be full of snubs (including Blake Wheeler, Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Suter, just to name a few).

Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty will lead the Pacific's defensive effort. (USATSI)
Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty will lead the Pacific's defensive effort. (USATSI

Pacific Division

Forwards:

Defense:

Goalies:

Analysis: This is sure to be an interesting team, but that was always going to be true with John Scott winning the fan vote. Johnny Gaudreau has been one of the breakout stars of 3-on-3 overtime and that blue line is going to be really fun to watch. The American tandem in net also gives Team Pacific a pair of athletic goaltenders in a wide-open game.

Biggest Snub: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes) -- Not only because the Coyotes are not represented this season, but also because he would have been a legitimately strong option to attend the game. He is one of the NHL's rising stars on defense and has been one of the best players at the position for a couple of years now. 

*The only team that is not represented at this year's game is the Arizona Coyotes. Their player was supposed to John Scott, the winner of the NHL's fan vote, but he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens and sent to the American Hockey League just two weeks before the game. He remains the captain of the Pacific Division team.