Kevin Hayes, Johnny Gaudreau, and five story lines to watch at NHL All-Star weekend

While the Flyers haven’t played since their 4-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, the leaguewide NHL All-Star break doesn’t officially begin until Thursday.

Forward Kevin Hayes will represent the Flyers during the festivities in Sunrise, Fla., but he is far from the only reason to tune into the event. With so many bright young stars to showcase across the league, creative new skills competitions, and some clean Miami Vice-inspired jerseys, it promises to be an All-Star weekend full of fun. With that said, here are five reasons to watch:

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While there has been a lot of debate over how the NHL All-Star rosters are constructed — each team being assured of at least one representative often means some of the league’s true All-Stars are left out — one thing the NHL deserves credit for is continuing to try to tweak the skills competition and appeal to new audiences.

After experimenting with two Vegas-themed skill competition events last year by incorporating the Bellagio Fountains and playing a form of life-size blackjack, the NHL will again tailor two events to its host city. This year the first event will be “Pitch ‘n Puck,” a combination of golf and hockey. Six players will play a par-4 golf hole with an island green, using a combination of pucks and balls with the lowest individual scorer crowned the winner.

The second event, “Splash Shot,” will take place with the beautiful backdrop of a Fort Lauderdale beach, and see four teams of two players compete in a single-elimination competition. Players will simultaneously shoot pucks at targets in a race to send their opponents into a dunk tank. As has been the case in recent seasons, some of the best women’s players in the world will also show their skills on the All-Star stage, as Team USA’s Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight, and Team Canada’s Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston, and Sarah Nurse will participate in various capacities.

NHL All-Star weekend has lost some of its luster and still ranks behind some of the other sports’ All-Star offerings, but at least the league is finally trying new things to market its star players and appeal to new audiences and younger fans.

Let’s just say it could be a triggering weekend for Flyers fans. Why? After an offseason of speculation that South Jersey’s Johnny Gaudreau could sign with the hometown Flyers, Flyers fans will be forced to watch Gaudreau, who wound up signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, line up alongside Hayes for the Metropolitan Division in the All-Star Game.

The two close friends and college teammates at Boston College will likely even lobby Metro coach and former Flyer Rod Brind’Amour to play on a line together, giving Flyers fans a small taste of what the pair might have looked like playing together in orange and black. Hayes, who was the No. 1 recruiter in the Gaudreau sweepstakes, considers Gaudreau among his best friends and will surely relish the opportunity to play with him again, even if it is only for one day.

Oh, what could have been, Flyers nation ...

Amid a career season for the Vancouver Canucks, center Bo Horvat was voted in on Jan.19 as a Pacific Division All-Star. This is where things get awkward.

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Horvat, who already has a career-high-tying 31 goals this season, was traded from the Canucks to the New York Islanders on Monday. So which team will Horvat represent at All-Star weekend?

The NHL announced Wednesday that Horvat will remain part of the Pacific team for the event but that he will do so while competing in an Islanders jersey. As a result, Horvat will have to wait a few more days to play with new teammates and fellow All-Stars Brock Nelson and Ilya Sorokin.

The division vs. division All-Star format does create some good story lines, as fans get a chance to see players who may be fierce rivals play with one another. But no rivalry or debate has consumed this generation of hockey fans like Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin.

On Saturday, Crosby and Ovechkin will be teammates as the Pittsburgh Penguins center and Washington Capitals sniper will both play for the Metro. With Crosby, now 35, Ovechkin, 37, and all the debate about changing the All-Star format, could this be the last time we see the two line up together as teammates?

The two former No. 1 overall picks came into the league together in 2005-06 and have been competing against each other, both on the ice and via watercooler talk, ever since. From chasing individual awards to epic playoff series, the rivalry has dominated the NHL headlines for almost two decades now, with the duo combining for 22 All-Star nods, five Hart trophies, and four Stanley Cups.

Probably the two best players of their era, even after 18 seasons, Crosby and Ovechkin are separated by only five career points. Enjoy these two legends, even if they have both been major thorns in the Flyers’ side over the years.

When it comes to the traditional skill contests like fastest skater, hardest shot, and accuracy shooting, there is always the potential for someone to do something special.

Last year, St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou upset Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the fastest-skater competition in a shocking upset. With all the young flyers in today’s game, could someone break Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin’s record of 13.172 seconds set in 2016?

One record to watch is the hardest-shot mark, achieved by Boston’s Zdeno Chara in 2012 at 108.8 mph Buffalo’s Tage Thompson figures to be involved here, and at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds, he has the unique physical makeup and big shot to put up a big number. Breaking 108.8 mph will take an all-time feat, but Thompson has touched 101 mph during a game this season and has the kind of release that could make it interesting.