NHL cancels 2013 Winter Classic

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Another signpost towards a lost 2012-13 season, the National Hockey League announced the cancellation of the 2013 Winter Classic.

The annual outdoor contest was scheduled to take place on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.

With the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players' Association and the NHL, the league was not in a position to do all that is necessary to adequately stage events of this magnitude.

"The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today's decision unavoidable. We simply are out of time," said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. "We are extremely disappointed, for our fans and for all those affected, to have to cancel the Winter Classic and Hockeytown Winter Festival events."

"We look forward to bringing the next Winter Classic and the Hockeytown Winter Festival to Michigan," Daly added.

In addition, the NHL announced all SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival events scheduled for Dec. 16-31 at Comerica Park in Detroit are cancelled.

If the game was played, it would have marked the third time in six years that the contest was staged in a football venue, after Ralph Wilson Stadium (2008) and Heinz Field (2011).

News of the cancellation comes one week after the league decided to eliminate all games through Nov. 30.

The league-imposed lockout began on Sept. 16.

The Sports Network