A brief history of the 1990s NHL all-star skills competition

Although the first NHL all star game took place in 1947, the skills competition that almost overshadows the game itself now did not first happen until 1990. Since that time the competitions and their rules have evolved and changed, but regardless of the specifics, the competition gives the players a chance to show their sublime skills and personality to boot. Let's take a brief look at the five events that were part of the skills competition during the 1990s:

• Accuracy shooting: one of the initial three events, accuracy shooting saw competitors standing in the slot, receiving passes from either side of the net, attempting to hit targets in each of the net's corners in the fewest attempts. Boston's Ray Bourque dominated the event, winning outright four times, and sharing victories twice during the decade. Twice he put up perfect 4/4 scores, with only Mark Messier matching that total during the 1990s. Other notable victors include Messier (1991 and 1996) and Brendan Shanahan, (1994 and 1998).

• Hardest shot: perhaps the simplest event, whoever had the hardest shot from a still puck left at the top of the slot would be declared the winner. This event was dominated by Al MacInnis, winning five times in the decade, topping out at 100.4 miles per hour (mph). Al Iafrate was his main competition, winning three times, and setting a then record of 105.2 mph in 1993. Iafrate's record stood until Zdeno Chara put up a 105.4 mph shots in 2009.

• Goalie competition: the winner of this competition was the goalie who allowed the least number of goals in two events: the breakaway competition and the in the zone competition. Seven different goalies won this competition in the decade, with Patrick Roy (1991 and 1994), John Vanbiesbrouck (1994 and 1997) and Dominik Hasek (1996 and 1998) two time winners. 1993's winner, Jon Casey, holds the records for most saves with 35, although later years of the competition saw the number of shots faced drastically reduced.

• Faster skater: introduced in 1992, this event had two players going head-to-head in a single, timed lap of the rink, with the fastest individual lap skater being declared the winner. Sergei Fedorov (1992 and 1994), Mike Gartner (1993 and 1996) and Peter Bondra (1997 and 1999) were two time winners in the decade.

• Puck control relay: introduced in 1994, this timed competition saw competitors skated through an obstacle course while maintaining control of a puck. This event saw five different individual winners in five years: Russ Courtnall, Pierre Turgeon, Geoff Sanderson, Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya. After his initial win in 1999, Kariya would win three more years in a row (2000-2002).

610 - All-Star Checklist

611- Mario Lemieux

With 13 goals, Lemieux is tied for first on the all-time scoring list for NHL all-star games with Wayne Gretzky. Add in his ten assists and he is second on the all-time points lists with 23, two behind Gretzky. To make Lemieux's totals even more impressive is that he accomplished these scoring feats while appearing in only 10 all-star games during his 17 NHL seasons.

A six time starter, Lemieux also won three all-star game MVPs. As a rookie during the 1985 game he scored two goals, including the game winner, and an assist, becoming the first rookie to win the MVP award. In 1988 Lemieux scored three goals and three assists, including the overtime winner for the Wales Conference. By scoring six points he also set a then record for most points in a single all-star game. 

Lemieux’s 1990 all-star game MVP performance is arguably the best of the three. In front of a hometown Pittsburgh crowd Lemieux scored four goals, including three in the first period alone. He became the first player since Gretzky to score four goals in a single game (1983), with the 1990 game setting records (at the time) for most goals scored by one team (12 for the Wales Conference), most goals combined for both teams (19) and most goals in one period (nine in the first period)

612 - Brian Leetch

The stalwart New York Rangers defender appeared in nine all-star games between 1990 and 2002, earning a starter role in three consecutive years (1996 through 1998). In these nine games he recorded two assists. 

613 - Kevin Stevens

The big Penguins left winger appeared in three straight all-star games from 1991 and 1993. A starter in both 1992 and 1993, he recorded three goals and two assists over those games.

614 - Patrick Roy

Saint Patrick appeared in 11 all-star games, ten times as a starter. Given how often he started the game, it is no surprise he has been credited with only two wins (1988 and 1990).

Roy won the goalie competition four times in his all-star career. In 1991 by making 23 saves on 25 shots and 12 years later in 2003 by making eight saves on nine shots. He also shared the competition victory in 1994 with John Vanbiesbrouck (12 saves on 16 shots) and in 2002 with Dominik Hasek (eight saves on nine shots).

615 - Paul Coffey

Coffey sits second all time in most all-star game appearances by a defenceman with 14, five behind Ray Bourque. In those 14 games Coffey recorded two goals and 11 points. He was named a starter 10 times, including seven straight years between 1988 and 1994.

616 - Joe Sakic

Sakic played in 12 all-star games, three times earning the starter role. In these 12 games he scored 6 goals and 23 points, good for third all-time in all star game scoring. Sakic’s 16 assists also puts him first all-time, three ahead of Connor McDavid, Mark Messier and Ray Bourque. He earned the MVP honours in 2004, recording a hat trick in a losing cause for the West, who lost 6-4 to the East.

617 - Jaromir Jagr

Mario Jr played in only eight all-star games during his 24 season NHL career, with a dozen seasons coming between his second last (2004) and last (2016) appearances. Granted Jagr was out of the NHL for four seasons, but his lack of appearances also shows a change in the way all-star games were treated by NHLers. In his eight games he played as a starter six times, scoring four goals and 13 points.

618 - Alexander Mogilny

Mogilny played in four all-star games, earning a starting position in 1994. In his four games he scored two goals and five points. His most memorable moment came in the 1992 skills competition where he finished second to countrymate Sergei Fedorov in the faster skater competition, losing in a photo finish.