McDavid of Oilers wins $1 million prize at 2024 NHL All-Star Skills

TORONTO — Connor McDavid is $1 million richer after the Edmonton Oilers captain won the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.

McDavid secured the victory in the Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course, winning his fourth of eight events with a time of 40.606 to finish with 25 points. He needed to finish second or better to defeat Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who was second with 20 points.

Makar was second in the Obstacle Course with a time of 43.435 seconds, and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews finished third with 18 points in the eight events.

Each of the 12 participants had the choice of taking part in four of the first events. Players earned points based on their finish in the first six events: First — five points; second – four points; third — three points; fourth — two points; and fifth — one point. The top eight point earners advanced to the seventh event: The Honda/Hyundai NHL One-on-One. After seven events, the top six point earners advanced to the Obstacle Course, where the points for the top five finishes were doubled.

McDavid won the Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater event for the fourth time in his career, posting a time of 13.408 seconds, narrowly defeating Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, who posted the only other time under 14 seconds (13.519). Barzal won the Fastest Skater event at 2020 NHL All Star Weekend with a time of 13.174 seconds.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon won the Tim Hortons NHL One Timers event with 23 points, besting forwards Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) and David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), who each had 22.

Chicago Blackhawks rookie center Connor Bedard, who is still recovering from a fractured jaw sustained last month, served as a special guest passer for the One Timers event.

Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson won the Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge with 25 points, two more than Makar.

Makar won the Rogers NHL Hardest Shot, delivering a shot at 102.56 miles per hour, just ahead of Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller (102.34). Through four events, Makar led with 11 points, one ahead of Pettersson, four ahead of Barzal and six ahead of McDavid and MacKinnon.

But McDavid won his second event, the Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling Challenge, with a time of 25.755 seconds. Barzal finished second (26.929). McDavid climbed the standings with the win and tied Pettersson at 10 points, trailing Makar and Barzal, who each had 11.

McDavid won his third event in the Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting, hitting four targets in 9.158 seconds, just ahead of Matthews (9.341 seconds). The win put McDavid in first place after six events with 15 points, four ahead of Makar and Barzal, five ahead of Pettersson and seven ahead of Matthews.

Pastrnak, Draisaitl, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes were eliminated after six events, leaving eight competitors remaining for the Honda/Hyundai NHL One-on-One event, where the competitors each chose one of the eight All-Star goalies to face.

Maple Leafs forward William Nylander won the One-on-One with nine points, going against Cam Talbot of the Los Angeles Kings. Alexandar Georgiev of the Avalanche earned $100,000, leading all goalies with nine saves against his shooter, McDavid.

MacKinnon and Pettersson were eliminated after the One-on-One, leaving six competitors remaining for the final event, the Obstacle Course. McDavid led with 15 points, 1.5 ahead of Barzal, three ahead of Makar, Matthews and Nylander, and five ahead of Miller.