NHL All-Star Game a no-go in Florida
South Florida and the Panthers were set to host the NHL All-Star Game for just the second time, but the coronavirus pandemic has scuttled those plans.
The NHL on Thursday canceled the Winter Classic scheduled for Jan. 1 at Target Field in Minneapolis and All-Star Weekend that was set for late January at the BB&T Center in Sunrise. It said those moves don’t change the league and players’ target date to begin on or around Jan. 1 in the hopes of each team playing a full 82-game season.
No guarantee of being able to host fans led to the cancellation of the two signature events. The league hopes to bring them back to those cities in future years.
“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.”
When the Panthers will be hosting the event again is uncertain. The team said, “the League intends to return to Florida for this signature event in the near future” in a tweet.
The Minnesota Wild were supposed to host their first Winter Classic next season at the home of Major League Baseball’s Twins against the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. .