2014 NHL Winter Classic to be between Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs
While fans of the National Hockey League (NHL) missed out on one of hockey’s most looked forward to events this year due to the lockout, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman raised hopes once again as he announced the two teams to compete in the 2014 NHL Winter
Classic.
Those who missed out last time around, will get another chance next year as the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs have been chosen again to make up for the missed chance and go head to head on New Year’s Day at the campus of the University of Michigan.
The announcement was made on Sunday morning by Bettman, which definitely has fans all around the world excited for the event which they so dearly missed last time.
"We've been excited about going to The Big House, and we're glad that the plans are falling into place to do everything we originally planned to do and more," Commissioner Bettman said, according to NHL.com.
"In terms of the ancillary events, I think we have the ability to do more and do some better planning," Commissioner Bettman said. "We want to make sure that this event is as strong and as solid and as big as it can be. Everything we're doing is in pursuit
of that."
Over 100,000 people are expected to show up for the event, giving the NHL a chance at setting a world record for attendance at a hockey game. Not only that, but more than 200,000 people are expected to flock all around Detroit in order to witness moments
living up to the game, giving business there a chance to thrive as well.
It will be exactly one year after the previous event was cancelled between the same two teams, on January 1, 2013, due to the lockout, which at the time, seemed like it would never come to an end. Luckily, the season got back on track and a little more than
half of it was saved at the end by successful negotiations from the NHL Players’ Association and League.
"People like to have a reason to come together and celebrate," Leafs alumni Darryl Sittler told NHL.com.
Tags: