We are now officially one month away from the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and the rosters are starting to trickle out. The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a difficult start to the season and are no further ahead in the standings than they were last year. Nonetheless, they get a player chosen to represent them in the game and the selection is in.
Blue Jackets’ captain Boone Jenner will be making his first-ever NHL All-Star Game appearance. He had a pretty solid start to the season, but has missed the team’s last ten games because of a broken jaw suffered blocking a shot on Dec. 8. His estimated six-week absence would put him on track to return at some point in January, well in time for the All-Star Game.
Jenner’s 13 goals in 29 games put him on pace for 36 over an 82-game season, which would blow past his previous career high of 30, from 2015-16. His prolonged absence this season didn’t put him on the radar of many people who were predicting the Jackets’ representative in this event. However, his hard-nosed style of play, combined with his underrated scoring touch, make him a worthy candidate.
Related: Blue Jackets’ Options for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game
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This year’s All-Star festivities will be taking place in Toronto from Feb. 1-3. While it’s not 100 percent clear how this year’s event is going to play out, this will be the first change in format in quite some time. The 2024 NHL Skills Competition is getting completely revamped, with only 12 players competing in a series of smaller competitions with the overall winner taking home $1 million.
The 3-on-3 aspect of the actual All-Star Game will remain, with four teams playing in one or two games each, but will diverge from divisional segregation. Four players will be chosen as team captains and they will conduct a draft to fill out their rosters. Now with a representative selected from every team, the fan vote begins to elect another 12 players to participate in the festivities.