EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The NHL announced on Sunday that UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders, will be hosting the 2026 NHL All-Star Game.
This is the second time ever that an Islanders venue will host hockey’s mid-season festivities — the first time was in 1983 at the Nassau Coliseum, the team’s home from 1972 to 2021.
“The National Hockey League is thrilled to have the best and brightest of our game hosted at the spectacular UBS Arena for the 2026 NHL All-Star weekend,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We have been looking forward to UBS Arena playing host to one of our major League events since before construction of this wonderful arena began.”
The Islanders moved into UBS Arena on the border of Nassau County and Queens in Elmont, NY, for the 2021-22 season. It is still the newest NHL-specific arena in North America, holding 17,255 fans for hockey.
Across Hempstead Turnpike from the arena is a retail village and hotel that will be completed shortly and fully functional by the time of the All-Star Game.
“We are honored to be invited to host the National Hockey League, the game’s finest player and fans from around the world to join us in New York,” Islanders majority owner Scott Malkin said.
The New York City area has only hosted three other All-Star-type events in the game’s history, which dates back in various forms to 1947. Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers, hosted the 1973 and 1994 All-Star Games and the 1979 Challenge Cup between the NHL All-Stars and the Soviet Union.
The NHL’s announcement came during the first period of the Islanders’ Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium, home of the NHL’s Giants and Jets, against the crosstown-rival Rangers.
For more on UBS Arena and the NHL All-Star Game, visit AMNY.com
Joe Pantorno
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