Leafs "closing in" on hosting NHL All-Star game for first time in over two decades: report
The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly have no shortage of stars when it comes to their roster.
But the rest of the league’s stars could be descending on Toronto, with a recent report suggesting that the Leafs might be hosting the 2024 NHL All-Star game next winter.
“According to a source from Star contributing columnist Nick Kypreos, the Maple Leafs are closing in on hosting the annual event at Scotiabank Arena for the first time since 2000,” Braydon Holmyard of the Toronto Star wrote in an article on Wednesday.
The report backs up speculation from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who posited the possibility of the All-Star Game being played in Canada next season during a Hockey Night in Canada segment this past December.
“Edmonton’s got a new building, Montreal loves to host events ā although they just had the draft ā but I do wonder about Toronto. I think Toronto is interested, and I think they’re a potential bidder,” Friedman speculated on December 3.
Toronto last hosted the All-Star game at the then-Air Canada Centre on February 6, 2000, in the second season of their current building. Toronto has previously hosted eight official NHL All-Star games, though seven of them were held between 1947 and 1968.
The 2023 All-Star game is set to be held on February 4 at FLA Live arena in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers.
Mitchell Marner was the first Leafs player named to this year’s All-Star game, the second appearance of the career. Marner has 16 goals and 34 assists this year in just 42 games, as he sits tied for ninth in NHL scoring.
Toronto hosted the NBA All-Star game in 2016 and the MLB All-Star game in 1991, both of which are the only time the city has hosted each respective game.
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