Front page of Ottawa Sun causing stir

Apparently, the front page of this morning's Ottawa Sun is causing a stir in Canada.

Today In Tastefulness: Ottawa newspaper mocks a bloodied & concussed Lars Eller on cover. (Pic) bit.ly/18yXi5Y
— theScore (@theScore) May 3, 2013

The Quest For The Cup Begins!

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here, starting tomorrow night. Who's your choice to win the Stanley Cup?

Cal Clutterbuck to the Oilers… Ouch!

A while back I took some heat on twitter for suggesting that the Minnesota Wild let Cal Clutterbuck walk, when the season is over. Now we have an Oilers beat writer from the Edmonton Journal suggesting that the Edmonton Oilers trade for Clutterbuck. Yeah that’s going to play well for Oilers and Wild fans. Not!

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal – The Minnesota Wild likely can’t re-sign disturber Cal Clutterbuck for salary-cap reasons, so they will try to trade the restricted free agent this summer. As much as Clutterbuck doesn’t fight, which irks people when he runs them, the Edmonton Oilers should be all over this one. He could be a third-liner, for sure, and he provides energy, which was in very short supply this past season.

It will be interesting to see where some of the players on the Wild end up at the end of the season. Like I have said in the past, there are a lot of moving parts for the Minnesota Wild, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen are unrestricted free agents and you have to think that PMB is going to be gone, based on the unproductive and unimpressive season that he has had. Who knows with Cullen? Clutterbuck, Justin Falk and Jared Spurgeon are Restricted Free Agents; I can't imagine the Wild letting all of these players walk.

Next season, the salary cap for the Minnesota Wild is going to be 64,300,000.00 currently, the Minnesota Wild are sitting at about 70,120,744.00. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune has said in the past month, that Dany Heatly is likely amnesty buyout candidate this summer. So we will see. Like I said, there are a lot of moving parts.

Today's NHL Schedule

NHL plans six outdoor games next season, report says

This morning on my way to work, I was listening to SiriusXM NHL Center Ice. Apparently, there’s going to be six outdoor games, including the Winter Classic next season.

Seriously!

There are going to be a grand total of six outdoor games. Talk about an overkill.

Personally, I think there comes a time when the NHL has overdone the outdoor game, this might be an instance of this. How many outdoor games do we need to have during the course of a season? I also think the outdoor game can be a bit of a crap shoot with the weather, one of these game is almost assured of having disastrous ice conditions. Lastly, I think that the outdoor games are a gimmick as well. Really, the frozen pond in California? Make sure to throw the palm trees in for good measure.

Kevin Cusick, Pioneer Press --- TSN, Canada's version of ESPN, is reporting that the league is planning five outdoor games in addition to the Jan. 1 Winter Classic previously announced for the University of Michigan's Big House."

"They're still ironing out a few of the wrinkles," reporter Darren Dreger said on TSN's "Insider Trading" program. "Contracts haven't been signed. But that's the grand plan."

Here's the schedule that the NHL is proposing for the 2013-14 season.

Jan. 1: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium.

Jan. 25: Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium.

Jan. 26: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

Jan. 29: New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

March 1: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

March 2: Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks at BC Place (It apparently has a retractable roof now. Who knew?).

Is this supposed to be funny Harrison Mooney?

So is this supposed to be funny? Is that really humorous to others? I am just wondering? I wonder if Harrison Moody would think it was funny if one of the Sedin Twins or Alex Burrows was on the receiving end of dirty elbow or hit from behind like Marchand was tonight?

In today’s game where concussions are prevalent as missing teeth, do we really want to make light of dirty hits like this? Puck Daddy used to be a good hockey blog before they hired this clown. [click to view]

It's a tough situation for Volchenkov. It's easy to elbow Marchand in the head, because a) he's so small and b) he really makes you want to. But it goes without saying that you're not allowed to do it, so while applaudable in some circles, it's suspendable in others.

Not funny dude. Having watched Matt Cooke end Marc Savard's career with a dirty elbow, I don't see anything funny about this dirty, bush-league hit what-so-ever.

Is the Sabres’ Thomas Vanek headed to the Minnesota Wild in the offseason?

The Minnesota Wild are once again a franchise on the rise, after the moves they made in the offseason. Actually, the Wild have a chance to go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs, based on these recent moves.

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher went out and picked up Jason Pominville at the trade deadline and the newly acquired forward is now playing on the top line with Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu. Recent news stories around the Internet are starting to suggest that the Minnesota Wild could be a destination for Vanek during the offseason.

Michael Russo of the Star and Tribune is suggesting that Wild forward Dany Heatley might be heading for the scrap heap of history as well, as an amnesty buyout. The Minnesota Wild are beginning to look like a who’s who from the WCHA, which would even make the Wild more exciting to the home town fans.

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal – So the Buffalo Sabres off-loaded captain Jason Pominville, one of their three core players, to the Minnesota Wild one year before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

What about goalie Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek, the Sabres’ best natural scorer? They’re out the door, too, probably this summer.

Miller, who frankly hasn’t been the same goalie since his stellar work at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, which coincided with his Vezina Trophy-winning season, wants to join a team closer to where his actress wife Noureen DeWolf is working — namely Los Angeles.

Vanek has made no secret that he’s not up for a rebuild.

Trading him will be easier because there are more teams in the hunt for his services. Minnesota might jump in for him, too.

He lives in Minnesota, where he attended college, in the summer.

I know it’s early, but I wonder if there was a way for the Wild to pick up the Sabres forward Drew Stafford as well? I might be getting ahead of myself. I just can’t seem to hide my giddiness.

NHL Hockey; Leave Fighting alone for the sake of the game

They say that those that cover hockey, in most cases never actually played the game of hockey. Before you jump on me, hear me out… I mean seriously, every time I see one of these articles that question fighting’s role in the NHL and or in professional hockey, it sends up a big flag.

I ask you to think about it this way. I am sure you can picture a player from around the NHL from your least favorite team that has no honor, these are the Ulf Samuelssons, Matt Cookes, Raffi Tores and Patrick Kaleta’s or whoever, I am sure that you have one in mind, but you know the type of players that I am talking about, they're the type of players that I would like to see taken out of the game of hockey long before fighting was ever banned.

These are the players that when they get hit with a big check you feel no empathy for them what-so-ever as they lay on the ice writhing in pain. When Evander Kane knocked out Matt Cooke I stood in my living room cheering, actually chugged a beer in celebration, ex-post facto.

Imagine these clowns, skating around the ice unchecked to wreaking havoc on NHL players and star players without the fear of ever having to answer the bell for a dirty hit. They would be able to do their trade without the fear of retribution. That sets a bad precedence.

Chris Johnston, Sportsnet --- The message was clear: Let the debate happen elsewhere.

“I think you really have to understand the game and kind of understand the (dressing) room to know what it’s like to be on a bench when a guy fights,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said before the 4-2 victory over Toronto. “For fans that think that fighting has no part of the game, they don’t really know what they’re talking about.”

And that was that.

Marchand’s comments were consistent with the general line of thinking that can be found among both of these teams. They also highlight a pretty glaring paradox that exists within the sport.

Even though the fighting debate is always just one incident away from flaring up for fans and members of the media, the majority of players seem reluctant to even chew on the topic for a minute or two. They simply accept it — the good, the bad and (occasionally) the ugly.

I have seen all of the arguments for banning fighting from hockey and you can’t count on the refs and the department of player’s safety catch all of the offenders and in many cases they let the offenders go with little if any punishment.

Funny rant on the NHL discipline

This article was in the Vancouver Sun today and it’s a scream… it’s a must read if you haven’t seen it.

Cam Cole, The Vancouver Sun --- *** Is Boston coach Claude Julien right? Are the Habs the biggest collection of divers and embellishers in the NHL? (Memo to Beantown bloggers: does this mean the Vancouver Canucks are off the hook?) Is it an affront to all that's right and good in this world that the Bruins are the third-most penalized team in the NHL, and that the Canadiens have had 100 power play chances this season, while Boston has had just 61?

Or does Boston's penalty total go with the territory of being Big Bad Bruins? Kind of like the enduring Broad Street Bullies tag that clings to the reliably rugged Philadelphia Flyers, who lead the league in penalty minutes per game. Or the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were never considered very hard to play against until they went out and acquired a series of heavyweight brawlers, and now are No. 2 in the NHL in average time served.

Or is Julien whistling in the dark? He might be. Because No. 4 on the average penalty minutes ranking is ... Montreal.

Oilers' Taylor Hall faces hearing for dirty hit on Clutterbuck

Let’s see if the league has two sets of rules again, one set of rules for super stars and one set of rules for goons and third and fourth line players.

Taylor Hall might be a super star, but if a star starts racking up questionable and dirty hits, his actions will start catching up with him. Hall is also starting to develop a history with the Wild players as he also was also the guy that broke Wild Defenseman Jonas Broden's clavicle back in November with a shoulder-to-shoulder check. I do expect that it’s time for Hall to answer the bell for that dirty hit on Clutterbuck, the hockey code demands it.

NHL.COM --- Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall faces a hearing with the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety Friday afternoon for a kneeing/clipping incident in Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Wild.

Hall was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for kneeing Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck at 17:27 of the third period. Clutterbuck was helped from the ice and did not return.

It will be interesting to see how the Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan deals with this hit by Taylor Hall. It’s time to step up and make the right call. There is no excuse for this hit.

Vancouver's Hansen faces hearing for hit on Hossa

Vancouver Canuck forward Jannik Hansen hit Chicago Blackhawk forward Marian Hossa's in the head with this dirty hit and he needs to be suspended by the National Hockey League for this dirty hit, there is no defending this hit. Like I said in a previous post, this is a clear violation of the NHL’s rule 48. Vancouver Canuck forward Jannik Hansen needs to be suspended for this dirty hit, and there is no defending this hit.

NHL.COM --- Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen faces a hearing with the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety Wednesday afternoon for an incident in Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hansen was assessed a two-minute minor for roughing Marian Hossa at 1:10 of the third period. Hossa left the game and did not return.

Chicago defeated the Canucks, 4-3, in a shootout.

I do hope that the NHL Department of Players Safety does the right thing and suspends Hansen for this hit. These are the types of hits are that hockey is trying to eliminate, there is no reason for Hansen to hit Hossa in the head on that play.

Final Thoughts on Matt Cooke’s hit on Erik Karlsson

Today, the discussion on twitter and around the hockey blogsphere is the hit that Matt Cooke put on Erik Karlsson.  You can see the hit on the embedded video posted above.

The NHL’s department of Player Safety has reviewed the play and will not suspend Matt Cooke.

First, I hate Matt Cooke, I think he is a disgusting P.O.S. and if this guy was hurt in a fight or by a check and could never play in the NHL again, I wouldn’t be upset. I hold the guy in the lowest regards. Also, if he was standing in front of me I would tell this to his face.  

I understand that Cooke has cleaned up his act on the ice, but you can put chocolate frosting on a turd, it’s still a turd. I also don’t care what Cooke does off the ice; this low life scum has ruined too many good players’ careers on the ice. I also doubt that Marc Savard will donate money to Matt Cooke’s charities, again, it's Matt Cooke.  

To me, Cooke is no different that Todd Bertuzzi.

That being said, I don’t think that Matt Cooke intended to make a dirty check in this instance. The fact that it’s Matt Cooke people will always look at him with skepticism.

Tuesday Link around… information over-load

The biggest news of the day, besides the lockout being over, is the defection of UNO goalie Anthony Stolarz to the London Knights of the OHL.

This comes on the heels of the Denver defenseman Dakota Mermis leaving the Pioneers, to play for the London Knight’s as well.

I admit that the Mermis defection to London is also puzzling as well. Mermis was in the Denver lineup and playing on a regular basis with the Pioneers (1g-3a—4pts) in 19 games.

Stolarz defecting to the OHL is kind of a head scratcher for me and many other college hockey fans. Stolarz is a second round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers and wanted to go the college route and develop his game.

Obviously, Stolarz is probably a little disappointed with his start with the Mavericks (2-5-0, 2.56 GAA, .898 save percentage) but playing time is earned in division I college hockey. I am not sure how it’s going to get any better with the London Knights who are currently stacked at the goalie position with Jake Patterson (16-1-1-1, 2.20 GAA, .924 %), Kevin Bailie (18-4-0-1, 2.50 GAA, .921 save %).

I also imagine, that you have to earn you playing time on a team lead by former NHL forward Mark Hunter as well.

Of course right away people are going to wonder what Mermis and Stolarz were offered by the London Knights?

Also, the Knights have a two headed monster in goal; Jake Patterson and Kevin Bailie are both ranked in the top six for OHL goalies with the likes of Franky Palazzese, Malcolm Subban, Jordan Binnington and John Gibson.  

The part that is the most puzzling to me is how “some” of today’s athletes have such a small sense of commitment. It’s like they feel there’re owed something.

It’s this entitlement attitude, that I am entitled to top six minutes, top four defensive pairing or the majority of the starts in net. It doesn’t work that way in life. If things don’t go their way, they’ll just transfer to another team or league. What makes them think they’re going to play more at their next team? Whatever happened to working harder in practice?

Back in the day, if you weren’t playing as much as thought you deserved. Said player, might go visit with the coach. The conversation with the head coach would go something like this. Coach, ‘I am not playing as much as I would like.’ Coach would probably say something like this, ‘then practice harder.’ The conversation most likely would end with the player in question thanking the coach for his time and returning to practice.

Links of interest

Roman Augustoviz has a pretty good article on his blog today on the Hobey Baker Candidates in the WCHA. [click to view]

UND Hobey Baker Memorial Award Candidate Corban Knight is leading the Florida Panthers NCAA prospects in points. Knight currently has 10 more points than Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad. [click to view]

With the NHL Lockout finally being over, Michael Russo is actually going to be covering NHL hockey again and not the Minnesota Gophers. I am sure that some Gopher Hockey fans will be unhappy because Russo is one of the best in the business.

There is some good news as well. Pierre-Marc Bouchard is now symptom free and will be in training camp. Yay!  It also looks like Wild Defenseman Matt Dumba will be in training camp when the Wild start training camp. [click to view]

NHL fans are asking for cheaper NHL ticket prices. Yeah, good luck with that. [click to view]

Now that the NHL is back on… One of the questions that Eric Duhatschek ask is this it for Jarome Iginla in Calgary? [click to view]

After 113 days NHL Lockout is over… Yay!

I woke up this morning to find out that the winter of discontent is over; the NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to sign a new CBA, according to Minnesota Wild beat writers Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.

"We have reached an agreement on the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement," Commissioner Gary Bettman said at a joint news conference with NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr at 5:45 a.m. ET. "The details have to be put to paper. ... It's good to be at this point."

Do you hear that? Yay! The NHL lockout over! The NHL will no longer be the No Hockey League. I suppose now the NHL will try very hard to win back the millions of fans that they upset and too for granted. If the reports that I have been reading are correct, the new deal is for 10 years with a mutual opt-out after eight years.

So we shouldn’t have to go through another lockout until the 2021 season. Winning back the fans that they took for granted is not going to be an easy task, especially in this economy. Many fans will stay home and watch the game on NHL Center ice or get the games through their regional sports channels. I can say many.

Now the NHL teams have to fish their players out of the different European hockey leagues, especially the KHL.

The Kontinental Hockey League was a favoured (sic) destination, especially with the Russians as Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Washington's Alex Ovechkin and New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk were among that league's scoring leaders, just as they usually are in the NHL. [TSN.CA]

So basically, for 113 days the NHLPA and the NHL owners who acted like a bunch of spoiled children. Finally got to work and signed a deal. This should have been done last summer. I think the fact that the NHL owners put that ridiculous proposal out in September, kind of slowed things down and polarized the two sides.


Now the NHL wants us back. I think they have one hell of a marketing job to do. It’s not going to be easy getting some of the casual fans back into the NHL arena’s to watch the games. The NHL had a lot of mojo after last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and they squandered that momentum.

There might be some people that don’ want to spend that $70.00 - $200.00 to see a national hockey league game. I spent $70.00, for lower bowl seats the last time that I went to a Minnesota Wild game in March of 2011.

Honestly, I will be back watching the game from my living room, and I can’t wait to see the Boston Bruins play hockey again. I can’t wait to watch my Bruins smash P.K Subban and the Canadians again, but I am still angry.

I can’t wait to watch the Brad “Little Ball of Hate” Marchand’s antics as he drives the opposition fans and players nuts. I already have a shot across the bow to one of my buddies that hates Marchand.

Lastly, I still think that the Vancouver Canucks led by the Sedins Twins and Alex Burrows are still a bunch of diving frauds.

Some CBA tidbits

Good afternoon, this is day 73 of the NHL lockout and we're no closer to getting an agreement than we were yesterday.

The NHL CBA talks have now decided to hire a federal mediator to help them in their squabble. Which for a short period of time gave NHL hockey fans a “sliver” of hope that there could be an end to this ridiculous work stoppage – the recommendation by the mediation team is non-binding.

This might be nothing more than window dressing. I am not giving up hope that just maybe, we finally can have a break through – we’re running out of time to have a meaningful season if this lockout drags on much longer.

Ed Tait; Winnipeg Free Press --- The U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced Monday a pair of mediators will now be involved in negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA in an effort to bridge the gap between the two sides.

"I think both sides are prepared to try a new approach," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Washington Times. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Added NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr in a statement: "We look forward to their involvement as we continue working to reach an equitable agreement for both the players and the owners."

Then one of the first official actions to come out of the federal mediators coming on board was to have one of the mediators removed from the team because of a twitter kerfuffle.

Kevin McGran; The Toronto Star --- In what could only be described as a bizarre twist, mediator Guy Serota was removed from the talks only an hour after being appointed due to the odd postings on his Twitter account (@GuySerota). Some of the tweets included references to masturbation and religious attacks on comic Sarah Silverman. He said it was hacked. It has since been deleted and replaced with nothing controversial on it.

He was replaced as a mediator by John (Jack) Sweeney, director of mediation services, once the hockey world got a look at Serota’s sometimes awkward musings on the social media site that has famously seen its share of hoaxes (recently during Hurricane Sandy), impersonators and the humbling of celebrities, like Alec Baldwin.

The ole my twitter account was hacked excuse. You really can’t make this stuff up – twitter references to self-gratification – some people should not post on twitter. When will people realize that you have to safeguard your twitter account but also; one tweet could ruin your whole life with one click of a mouse.

This is one of the best eye opening articles that I read today.

Barry Rozner; Daily Herald --- The reason there’s no agreement yet is that Gary Bettman has made promises he can’t keep. And if he doesn’t keep them and loses half an NHL season — or more — in the process, he will be out of a job that pays him $8 million a year.

That’s why there’s been little negotiation from the NHL. That’s why there’s no hockey. And that’s why there won’t be hockey until the owners order Bettman to sit down and negotiate, or a union decertification forces the league to bargain instead of bleed.

See, Bettman promised seven or eight owners that he could get another lopsided deal. If he doesn’t get it after losing a billion dollars in league revenue, he’s probably out of a job.

So Bettman is holding up the game to save himself, and one imagines he’s still convincing a small group of men that he can squeeze more from the players. That small group of owners, in turn, is keeping the arenas silent.

Doesn’t paint you a very good picture about the hopes of gaining a settlement for the CBA, unless certain owners want to have a new agreement.

Jason Zucker Overtime goal

Can you imagine how good Denver would be if Jason Zucker was still with the Denver Pioneers this season. According to Michael Russo of the Star and Tribune, this goal by Zucker tied an AHL record for one of the fastest goals in overtime (five seconds). This was a goal scorer's goal as well, the goalie never seen it coming. Former UND defenseman Chay Genoway was also on the ice for Aeros as well when the goal was scored.

NHL cancels more games through December 14

You see where this is going? I suppose it won’t be long before the NHL leadership cancels the whole month of December and then we get to the ledge where the season is cancelled probably soon after if no agreement is reached.

NEW YORK - The National Hockey League announced today the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through December 14. The NHL also announced the cancellation of the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend scheduled for Jan. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. The cancellations are necessary due to the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players' Association and the NHL.

A total of 422 regular-season games -- 34.3 percent of the season -- were scheduled for Oct. 11 through Dec. 14.

"The reality of losing more regular-season games as well as the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend in Columbus is extremely disappointing," said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. "We feel badly for NHL fans and particularly those in Columbus, and we intend to work closely with the Blue Jackets organization to return the NHL All-Star events to Columbus and their fans as quickly as possible."

You have to wonder how many other players are begging to feel the same way as Roman Hamrlik and Michal Neuvirth. I think this is kind of what the NHL owners wanted to do as well. You have to wonder if there is beginning to be some dissention in the player ranks.

Katie Carrera; Washington Post --- Washington Capitals forward Troy Brouwer was frustrated Thursday to read comments made by two of his teammates that questioned the direction of the NHLPA during the lockout.

In the previous 48 hours, veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik said that he was “disgusted” and spoke out against NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr while goaltender Michal Neuvirth voiced support for the blueliner’s view, adding that he believed the lockout was about “several superstars with big contracts.”

Those comments didn’t sit well with Brouwer, who along with Jason Chimera serves as the Capitals’ representatives to the NHLPA and has spent much of the past few months learning the details of the union’s proposals and helping relay the information to others.

I was wondering about this the other day, not everyone in the NHL makes 5-10 million dollars a year in the NHL. There are a lot of players that are making less money and might be feeling the pinch of the lockout. I wonder is the will signal the beginning of the end of the solidarity with the NHLPA?

“I agree 100 percent with Hammer,” Neuvirth said. “This lockout is not about majority of players, I think. It is about several superstars with big contracts.”

Leafs Fan buys toilet for $5,300.00

This morning, I was listening to NHL Home Ice on XM-92 and this story was one of their lead stories. You would have to be one heck of a NHL Hockey fan to buy an old toilet for 5,300.00. Seriously, I can’t imagine spending that much money for a toilet no matter who sat on it.

TORONTO - An Ontario lawyer is now the proud owner of a toilet from the Toronto Maple Leafs' former dressing room.

Jim Vigmond, of Barrie, Ont., bought the unusual item for $5,300 at auction after the piece he really wanted—the 1967 Stanley Cup banner—got too expensive. The toilet was offered up along with more than 100 items from Maple Leaf Gardens, which was home to the NHL team until 1999.

Fifty-five-year-old Vigmond says his friends were skeptical about the purchase.

But the long-time Leafs fan says the item was just too good to pass up.

Vigmond says he was actually willing to spend up to $10,000 on the throne.

"They thought I had money to burn, and surely there was something that I could have better spent my money on," he said.

"They've got a point. But ... it's a part of an icon. I just thought ... what a rare piece and just think of all of the people that have spent time contemplating in that dressing room what lies ahead of them."

Vigmond plans on putting the toilet in his sports memorabilia room, where he wants to sit on it, light up a Cuban cigar, open a bottle of 30-year-old single malt, and hopefully, watch a Leafs game sometime soon.

This sums it up well.

Winter Classic to be cancelled

Original NHL logo, used until 2005. A version of the logo features it in the shape of a hockey puck. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Michael Russo, beat writer for the Star Tribune also said on tweeter today the Winter Classic is dead. Russo is one of the most in tuned beat writers for an NHL team and if he says that the Winter Classic is going to get cancelled, I will believe that it’s true as well.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)--- A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the NHL has cancelled the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the league had not yet announced the cancellation of its signature event. The person also the NHL will schedule its next Winter Classic at the iconic stadium that seats more than 100,000 people.

Last week, the NHL wiped out all of its previously scheduled games through the end of November.

Detroit and Toronto, two of the league's Original Six teams, were going to play outdoors on Jan. 1 at the stadium known as the Big House. The league was hoping the matchup would break the world record for hockey attendance. Michigan and Michigan State's hockey teams drew a record 104,173 fans in 2010.

 Nice to see that the NHL is finally becoming the No Hockey League... One has to wonder if and when will the two sides finally put their differences aside and come to an agreement so we can have an NHL season. It's obvious that the NHL Owners are trying to get the NHLPA to crack and I don't see it happening this time around.