Storm Debris: 2016 NHL All-Star Game Edition

All About the All-Star Game

The party is underway in Nashville as star players, coaches, celebrities and media convene for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. Fan Fest kicked off yesterday, players meet with the media today, the Skills competition is tomorrow night, and the 3-on-3 All-Star Game will take place Sunday afternoon.

• Here are your [rosters].
• Alexander Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews are out of the lineup (and will serve one-game suspensions for not participating), and Evgeny Kuznetsov and James Neal have been added in their place.
• Skills Competition [events and points].
• 3-on-3, division-based [format for Sunday's game].
• When and where to watch:

• Every player is getting some seriously sweet swag in their ASG gift baskets, including a personalized Gibson guitar [BarDown].
• Lots of events and activities at the Fan Fair [full schedule] and hey, it even has a cheese fountain! [Puck Daddy]. Here's what Day One looked like [On The Forecheck].
• Outside of the NHL action, there's a national junior hockey tournament in Nashville this weekend as well (featuring Carolina players, Bill Peters will be there with his son, who is playing) [Tennessean].
• All-Star weekend is a celebration of Nashville's growth as a hockey town [Hockey Buzz].
• Find more information at the All-Star Weekend HUB [NHL.com].

• Updated 2:30 pm: Running blog of all things Justin Faulk this weekend [CH.com].
• Faulk headed back to All-Star Weekend [CH.com].
• All-Star Justin Faulk excited to be part of the game [N&O].
• Canes' Justin Faulk shooting for success at 2016 NHL All-Star Game (includes a scorching hot take about his music interests at the moment) [NHL.com].

Other Canes News

Nothing like going out on a high note, as the Canes finished January with a 7-3-3 record and an absolute beat-down of the Chicago Blackhawks in their closing game, so most of the news is good.

• After Tuesday's win Bill Peters took to the airwaves to crow about his players [NHL Network] and to add he didn't feel they had yet reached their full potential [WRALSportsFan].
• Measured against the NHL's best, the Hurricanes proved a point [N&O].
• Not all the news is good. During Tuesday's game CanesVision masterfully trolled visiting Chicago fans with a 'crying Jordan' meme on the videoboard, and apparently unless you've recently won three Stanley Cups you're not allowed to have a sense of humor [Puck Daddy] [USA Today] [CBS Chicago].
• GM Ron Francis says understanding global sports markets is critical for success [SportsBusiness Daily].
• Mike Maniscalco and John Forslund discuss the Canes at the break and what might be next heading into the trade deadline on the Canes Corner podcast [WRALSportsFan].
• Former NHLer Patrick O'Sullivan talks trade deadline from a player's perspective, and Mike Solarte from TWC News talks Checkers and Alumni Game on this week's Cheaters Never Win podcast [Section 328].
• Some hockey players take to the warmer climates to rest and relax during the All-Star break. Eddie Lack spent the first day of his 'vacation' with the Junior A Salmon Arm Silverbacks in British Columbia [team twitter] and Noah Hanifin returned to his high school alma mater for a workout with the team [StSebs.org].
• Canes find a dominant checking line in the unlikely trio of Jordan Staal, Andrej Nestrasil, and Joakim Nordstrom [Today's SlapShot].
• Elliotte Friedman talks Canes in points 19 through 23 of his  weekly 30 Thoughts. Great quotes from Bill Peters and Brett Pesce [SportsNet].
• The Carolina Panthers played a big game in North Carolina last Sunday, but was it the most significant game ever played in the state, or was Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, or something else? [RaleighCo].