The polluted atmosphere created by the NHL’s greed-driven lockout agenda has wiped the Winter Classic off the 2013 map.
Yesterday’s announcement of the cancellation of the Red Wings-Maple Leafs Jan. 1 extravaganza that had been scheduled for the University of Michigan’s Big House in Ann Arbor — plus the two alumni games scheduled for Comerica Park in Detroit on New Year’s Eve, plus the myriad events of the Hockeytown Winter Festival that would have commenced on Dec. 15 — had been expected for over a week.
The cancellation of the NHL’s signature event does not represent an attempt by the league to gain collective bargaining leverage, but rather is a reflection of the widespread belief the event had been (or would be) hopelessly compromised by the lockout that is now in its 49th day.
The Post was told by a well-placed source the Red Wings had informed the league at least a week ago that the organization no longer believed it was possible to stage a first-class, untainted event. This opinion, the source reported, was shared on Sixth Avenue by COO John Collins, who is effectively responsible for the production that for the last two years had included HBO’s “24/7” run-up to the outdoor game.
Canceler-in-chief Gary Bettman was mute, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly referred to “logistical demands” in announcing the cancellation. The league last Friday canceled all games through November.
NHLPA executive director Don Fehr referred to the cancellation of the Winter Classic and the lockout itself as “unnecessary and unfortunate.”
* Detroit has been awarded the event for 2014, presuming the NHL is operational by that time. … Daly will meet today with NHLPA counsel Steve Fehr in what will represent the first face-to-face meeting of the parties since Oct. 18. The league has told the union it may be willing to fund the “make whole” provision on existing contracts, but has not provided any details on the matter. The league previously insisted that the union accept all of the league’s proposed changes regarding contract issues as a condition of meeting.