Ahead of Saturday's 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida, the league announced that 2024's All-Star weekend will be held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

It will be the first time since 2000 that Toronto has hosted the event. In a press release, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said:

"We are thrilled to bring the Honda NHL All-Star Game back to Toronto for the ninth time, and to shine a spotlight on our current stars in a setting that evokes over a century of league history. Toronto fans are among the most knowledgeable and passionate in our game and the city's rich hockey history dates back to the creation of the sport. What better place to play host to our annual midseason celebration of the best and brightest in the NHL?"

The NHL All-Star Game is indelibly linked to Toronto, which hosted the first official version of the event in 1947 at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Next year will mark the ninth time Toronto has hosted the NHL All-Star festivities. Only Montreal has hosted the All-Star Game more times (12).

The NHL All-Star Game has changed significantly since its inception, as 1947's event saw the Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs take on an All-Star squad comprised of players from other teams.

There have even been some major changes to the All-Star format since the last time the game was held in Toronto 23 years ago.

In 2000, the All-Star Game pitted North American players against players from other parts of the world, and Team World prevailed 9-4 over Team North America, with then-Florida Panthers winger Pavel Bure being named MVP.

The NHL switched back to the East vs. West concept three years later, held an All-Star draft from 2011 to 2015 and finally settled on the divisional format in 2016.

Now, the Atlantic, Pacific, Metropolitan and Central Divisions' teams face each other in a four-team three-on-three tournament.

In addition to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game being the first in Toronto since 2000, it will be the first in Canada since 2012, when the game was held in Ottawa.

Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander are among the Maple Leafs players who will have a strong chance to play in front of their home fans at the All-Star Game next season.