NHL: Winter Classic Cancelled
The NHL is expected to announce Friday afternoon, the cancellation of the Winter Classic, which was supposed to take place on January 1st, at the University of Michigan’s football stadium in Ann Arbor. This has been expected for the past week, but now the reality is upon us.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were set to take on the Detroit Red Wings, in a battle of two, original six teams. The NHL had to pull the plug now for many reasons, including that they would of had to pay a $250,000 deposit for the use of the stadium on Friday, as well as they had to let their sponsors know, rather then let the uncertainty drag on. Also due to the fact that the HBO “24/7” documentary series leading up to the winter classic, would have been tough to pull off, without a new CBA in place, by now, or very soon.
That being said, despite the cancellation, this does not mean the full season will be lost, or at least not yet. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special council Steve Fehr are expected to resume negotiations at some point soon. Hopefully sometime this month, a deal can be reached, so we can see perhaps a 60 game season take place, beginning in December.
