Gary Bettman discusses the possibility of the NHL All-Star game in Chicago

The NHL announced Thursday that Chicago will host the draft for the first time in 2017, but what about the All-Star game?

The Blackhawks haven’t hosted the game since 1991 at Chicago Stadium – a fact that wasn’t lost on league commissioner Gary Bettman.

Okay, so that’s not exactly a guarantee, but Chicago is about due – especially considering two teams (Montreal and Los Angeles) will have each hosted the game twice since the Blackhawks last did by the time the 2018 game rolls around (The Staples Center hosted the game in 2002 and will do so again in 2017).

Considering this group of Blackhawks has already been at the center of three Stanley Cup Finals, a pair of Winter Classics, a Stadium Series game and now a draft, the All-Star game is about the last thing the franchise needs to check off the list.

For now, the draft will have to do. The league isn’t expected to announce the site of the 2018 All-Star game until next January.

Most All-Star game selections as a Blackhawk