Report: Los Angeles to host 2017 All-Star Game

The Los Angeles Kings will reportedly play host to the 2017 All-Star Game. It would be the third time the Kings have hosted the contest, and second time in the past 15 years.

The Los Angeles Kings will be celebrating their 50th anniversary by hosting next season's All-Star Game.

While it hasn’t been officially announced, the NHL is likely to name the Kings the host of the 2017 all-star festivities. It had been long-rumored that Los Angeles was in the running to get the game, but TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported Thursday afternoon the league is “expected” to make the announcement of the Kings as the host.

Should the Kings officially be named hosts of the game, it will be the third time in franchise history that the city and team has been the site of the weekend’s celebrations. It would also be the fourth time the game has been hosted in California, as San Jose played host in 1997. The first All-Star Game in Los Angeles happened in 1981, and the Kings hosted the game in their current arena, Staples Center, as recently as 2002. More than 18,000 fans were in attendance.

If this season’s All-Star Game format remains for the 2017 contest, it would be the third different variation of the All-Star Game the city has seen. The 1981 game featured the Campbell Conference facing off against the Wales Conference. The 2002 game pitted the World All-Stars against the North American All-Stars.

It’s impossible to know exactly which cities were in the running, but there were some reports earlier in the season that Toronto could potentially play host to the game to coincide with the Maple Leafs’ 100th anniversary. However, Toronto could still very well play host to an outdoor contest to celebrate their centennial.