How to Bet on the NHL All-Star Game

The NHL All-Star Game is more than just another hockey game. It's more of an event that, in its current format, includes multiple games and a skills competition. Bettors can, of course, but on the outcome of the games, the skills competition, and for an NHL All-Star MVP.

All-Star Weekend is a rare opportunity to see—and bet on -- many of the best hockey players in the world. Putting some money down can make an already exciting weekend even better. So, let's review just how you can bet on NHL All-Star events.

💰Betting on the NHL Skills Competition
✍️Betting on the NHL All-Star Game
🏆Betting on the MVP
💡Format & Tips

NHL bets with FanDuel

Betting on the NHL Skills Competition

The games may be the main event, but the skills competition may be the most anticipated for fans and bettors. Effort in the actual games is often questionable since players do not want to risk injury in a meaningless contest. However, injury is not as much of a concern for the Skills Competition.

So, participants may be more likely not to hold back when participating in events, making them more entertaining to watch and bet on with their favorite online sportsbooks. The following were the events in the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Contest:

Fastenal NHL Fastest Skate
Tim Hortons NHL One-Timers
Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge
Rogers NHL Hardest Shot
Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling
Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting
Honda / Hyundai NHL One-on-One
Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course

Odds will be available for the participants in each event as well as for the overall winner. Let's take a look at an example from last season's contest. Here are the odds for the fastest skater at 2024's NHL All-Star Skills Contest (via DraftKings):

Connor McDavid +130
Mathew Barzal +200
Cale Makar +500
Quinn Hughes +1,000
William Nylander +1,000

Connor McDavid went on to defeat the field with a time of 13.408 seconds (for one full lap around the rink). Since his odds were +130, a $100 bet resulted in a $230 payday, the stake ($100), and $130 in winnings.

McDavid went on to win the Skills Contest outright after taking first in four events. His odds of winning the whole thing were +650 at DraftKings. So, a $100 wager on McDavid resulted in a $750 payday, your stake plus $650 in winnings.

Betting on the NHL All-Star Game

Under the current format, there isn't just one game anymore. Each division sends a team of 11 players who then participate in a small, single-elimination tournament. In 2023, teams were decided via a fantasy-style draft.

However, in 2025, the division format will be abandoned for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Bettors could put money down on the individual games as well as which one would win the mini-tournament. The odds for 2024 were as follows (teams named after their captains):

Team (Connor) McDavid +250
Team (Nathan) MacKinnon +275
Team (Auston) Matthews +275
Team (Quinn) Hughes +300

Team Mathew went on to win, earning bettors a $375 payday, your stake, plus $275 in winnings.

But there is much more to betting on the NHL All-Star game than the individual games (puck line, moneyline, over/under) and the overall winner, i.e., team points, head-to-head points, all-star MVP, etc.

Betting on the NHL All-Star Game MVP

Betting on a player to win MVP comes with a unique set of challenges, but if you make the right pick, it's a great way to get a nice payday. Odds do tend to be relatively high for All-Star MVPs since any player could potentially have an award-worthy performance.

Let's look at the top of 2024's NHL All-Star MVP betting board:

Auston Matthews +800
Connor McDavid +900
Nathan MacKinnon +1000
William Nylander +1000
David Pastrnak +1200

The player with the shortest odds (+800) only had an 11.11% chance of winning. So, the betting favorite did not have a good chance of winning. But, since he did, bettors who put $100 on him (Auston Mathews) enjoyed a $900 payday, your stake ($100), and $800 in winnings.

2025 All-Star Game: Four Nations Face-Off

In lieu of the all-star game and with NHL players returning to Olympic play in 2026, the NHL is holding a tournament, the Four Nations Face-Off. The tournament will consist of teams of players from the U.S., Finland, Scotland, and Canada.

From February 12–20, 2025, the four teams will participate in a mini-round robin competition, with the top two teams participating in an additional game, the championship.

So—how can you bet on the four-nation face-off? FanDuel has odds listed for several markets. Odds for the round-robin games have already been posted for each of the six first-round games, along with the following markets:

Round Robin Team Points
Round Robin Exact Points
H2H Points

NHL All-Star Game Betting 101

Now that we've reviewed many of the markets you can bet on for the NHL All-Star game, let's review how to bet on the game(s) and the skills competition:

Review the online sportsbook(s) operating in your state and decide which one(s) is(are) best for you
Decide what you want to bet on. To this end, review the markets the online sportsbooks in your state carry related to the NHL All-Star game.
Research the market to see if there are any historical trends that may give you some insight.
Register for an account with one of the online sportsbooks operating in your state or multiple so that you can line shop and take advantage of the welcome promos.
Be sure to enter the promo code (if required) when you sign up.
Make your first deposit.
Navigate to the NHL All-Star or Four Nations Face-Off page and find the market you want to bet on.
Click on it and enter how much you wish to bet into the appropriate space of your betting slip.
Place your hockey bet.