The NHL has announced that its Winter Classic and all-star weekend will not be held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Winter Classic featuring the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues was scheduled for Jan. 1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
The Florida Panthers were to host the all-star weekend at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., Jan. 29-30.
The NHL said the announcement does not impact the planned Jan. 1 start date for the upcoming NHL season.
“Because of the uncertainty as to when we will be able to welcome our fans back to our games, we felt that the prudent decision at this time was to postpone these celebrations until 2022 when our fans should be able to enjoy and celebrate these tentpole events in-person, as they were always intended,” NHL senior executive vice-president and chief content officer Steve Mayer said. “We are also considering several new and creative events that will allow our fans to engage with our games and teams during this upcoming season.”
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