NHL cancels Winter Classic between Maple Leafs & Red Wings
Posted November 2, 2012 3:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The NHL has cancelled the 2013 Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings.
The official announcement came just after 3 p.m. Friday.
“The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today’s decision unavoidable,” said the league’s deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “We simply are out of time. We are extremely disappointed for our fans and for all those affected.”
The outdoor game was scheduled to take place on New Year’s Day at the 115,000-seat Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. The league was hopeful the event would set a hockey game attendance world record.
Junior, NCAA, AHL and alumni games to be held at a second rink at Comerica Park in Detroit have also been called off.
Without the Winter Classic, the popular reality show series 24/7 is also likely to be cancelled.
Friday’s announcement was the latest cancellation the NHL has made since the league and players’ union failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement before the Sept. 15 deadline.
The two sides remain at a stalemate over how to divvy up $3.3-billion in revenue.
Last week, the NHL cancelled all regular season games until the end of November.
Daly expects CBA talks to resume in the “relatively near future.”
The two sides have not met since Oct. 18. [View the story “Reaction to NHL’s decision to cancel 2013 Winter Classic” on Storify]
