The NHL is poised to make a major leap in analytics by implementing puck and player tracking for the 2019-2020 season, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday during the All-Star weekend in San Jose, Calif.

The league is partnering with German company Jogmo World Corp. to insert microchips in players' shoulder pads as well as the game puck. These new tracking devices are designed to provide a near-exact calculation of player performance and ability.

"The puck and player tracking system can track pucks at a rate of 2,000 times per second in real-time with inch-level accuracy," Bettman said. "We'll instantaneously detect passes, shots, and positioning precisely. It will be equally accurate in tracking players - their movement, speed, time on ice - you name it."

The league will not permit the leveraging of this new data when it comes to salary arbitration, contract negotiations, and other player-related decisions and transactions, Sportsnet's John Shannon reports.

Fans won't have to wait until next season to see this technology in action, as the devices will be used during this weekend's All-Star Game.

The technology has been tested on multiple occasions, including the 2016 World Cup and the 2018 All-Star Game. The tracking system was also implemented during two regular-season games in Las Vegas in early January.

"Amazingly, within the confines of our 200-by-85-foot rink, Brent Burns and Jonathan Marchessault each skated more than three miles," Bettman said. "William Karlsson skated over 20 miles an hour.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The applications are endless."

With these advancements, the NHL joins the NFL as the only North American professional sports leagues to implement wearable tracking technology.

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The Colorado Avalanche will host the Los Angeles Kings at the Air Force Academy's Falcon Stadium as part of the NHL's Stadium Series, the league announced.

The outdoor game will be played on Feb. 15, 2020.

This will mark the Avs' second outdoor contest after hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in 2016.

The Kings have played in three prior games outside, two as part of the Stadium Series and the first occurring in Las Vegas circa 1991.

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The Dallas Stars will face the Nashville Predators at the 2020 Winter Classic, the league announced Friday.

The game will be held at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 1.

During the 2019 Winter Classic broadcast between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, commissioner Gary Bettman announced the Stars would host the event and would choose their opponent.

This will serve as the first outdoor game for each team and will be the southernmost event held in the league's history.

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss Friday's All-Star Skills Competition due to illness, the league announced, according to theScore's John Matisz.

Crosby still plans to play in the All-Star Game on Saturday, Matisz adds.

The 31-year-old participated in the Accuracy Shooting Competition the last two years and won the event in 2017.

This is the eighth time Crosby has been named an All-Star, but he will make just his fourth appearance in the game. He currently leads the Penguins in scoring with 21 goals and 57 points in 45 games.

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Things have not gone according to plan for the St. Louis Blues after an active offseason seemed to situate them among the NHL's elite.

The Blues sit three points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference but forward Ryan O'Reilly remains confident the club can contend.

"We haven't been perfect, but we are starting to get back into this fight and I am confident that we are going to play in the playoffs because of the way we work," O'Reilly said during All-Star Game media day, according to NHL.com's Shawn P. Roarke.

St. Louis has gone 6-3-1 in its last 10 games. O'Reilly, who attributes the turnaround to new-found confidence in the locker room, has posted 12 points over those 10 contests.

"We're starting to get a lot more consistent and we have a lot more confidence in our game," he said. "When bad things happen, we don't deviate from our game plan and we get back into it and understand that bad bounces happen and there are going to be breakdowns. But when that happens we have to come together and work out of it, and that has been the trend for us lately."

The Blues will exit their All-Star Game bye week with tough matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators within their first five contests.

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John Tavares is set to represent the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time at this year's All-Star festivities and is looking forward to another three-on-three showdown.

“The competitiveness amps up a little bit,” Tavares said, who is making his sixth All-Star appearance. “You try to score a few goals, make a few nice plays, and try to show that side of the game.”

The NHL has struggled to come up with an All-Star format that best engages the fans and players, but with the modern day game trending toward speed and skill, the three-on-three play has become a great way to showcase the NHL's elite.

“Also, with the more space and more room, and with the creativity and the speed of the game ... guys can really go out there and put on a good show for the fans. Because I think that’s what it’s obviously meant to be about,” he said.

The 2019 All-Star Game will mark the fourth consecutive season the NHL has used this format while splitting teams by their respective divisions.

“You go to battle so many times against those guys over the years, that sometimes it’s kind of nice to be on the same side for a little bit,” Tavares said. “I think you have to enjoy that, put the competitiveness aside for a day and show that mutual respect you have for each other.”

The Maple Leafs are currently one of the league's deadliest teams at three-on-three play with a record of 5-2 in overtime this season.

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The Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen won't be holding contract negotiations until the offseason, the superstar winger revealed during his media availability at the All-Star festivities on Thursday night.

Rantanen is making his first All-Star Game appearance. He's in the middle of a career-best season while ranking second in league scoring with 74 points in 50 games.

The 21-year-old is playing out the final season of his entry-level contract. He'll be part a potentially stacked restricted free-agent class that could also feature Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brayden Point.

Rantanen is on track for a significant payday after his 84-point output last season, and with his 121-point pace in 2018-19. The Avalanche are in good shape to re-sign him, as the team will have roughly $34.3 million in available cap space for the 2019-20 season, per Cap Friendly.

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The Colorado Avalanche aren't taking any chances when it comes to the health of superstar Nathan MacKinnon.

The 23-year-old will undergo an MRI on his foot Thursday and could be held out of this weekend's All-Star festivities in San Jose, Calif., Sportsnet's John Shannon reports.

MacKinnon logged 18:39 of ice time and added one assist during Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Wild.

With 27 goals and 44 assists in 50 games played this season, the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native was selected to captain the Central Division team in what would be the third All-Star appearance of his career.

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