The National Hockey League All-Star Game (French: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey) is an exhibition hockey game that traditionally marks the midway point of the National Hockey League's regular season, with many of the league's star players playing against each other. The starting lineup for the two teams, including the starting goaltender, is voted on by fans, while the remainder of the teams' rosters are chosen by the NHL's Hockey Operations Department in consultation with the teams' General Managers. The coaches for the two All-Star Game teams are typically the head coaches of the teams that, at the time of the All-Star Game roster announcements, are leading their respective conferences in point percentage (i.e. fraction of points obtained out of total possible points).
The All-Star Game is preceded by the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, a competition showing the various talents of the all-stars, and the NHL YoungStars Game, an exhibition game not exclusively featuring rookies, playing under slightly modified rules.
Given its checkered history, some fans have once again suggested that the All-Star Games be replaced with exhibition international games (for example, Canada vs. the United States, Sweden vs. Finland and the Czech Republic vs. Russia). Proponents of such a scenario argue that these games would be much more popular with fans both in North America and Europe, thus generating more revenue for the league. In addition, the national teams would benefit from the increased exposure and more regular opportunities to play, as is the case in soccer.
