NHL cancels 2013 Winter Classic

The annual outdoor contest was scheduled to take place on Jan. 1 at Michigan
Stadium in Ann Arbor between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.

With the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players'
Association and the NHL, the league was not in a position to do all that is
necessary to adequately stage events of this magnitude.

"The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today's
decision unavoidable. We simply are out of time," said NHL Deputy Commissioner
Bill Daly. "We are extremely disappointed, for our fans and for all those
affected, to have to cancel the Winter Classic and Hockeytown Winter Festival
events."

"We look forward to bringing the next Winter Classic and the Hockeytown Winter
Festival to Michigan," Daly added.

In addition, the NHL announced all SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival events
scheduled for Dec. 16-31 at Comerica Park in Detroit are cancelled.

If the game was played, it would have marked the third time in six years that
the contest was staged in a football venue, after Ralph Wilson Stadium (2008)
and Heinz Field (2011).

News of the cancellation comes one week after the league decided to eliminate
all games through Nov. 30.

The league-imposed lockout began on Sept. 16.