A normal NHL season will have to wait until at least 2022. On Thursday, the NHL announced in a press release that the 2021 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and the 2021 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend have been postponed because of the "ongoing uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus."
NHL Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer gave insight on the decision, saying:
"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."
He said fan participation is crucial to the success of both events.
The Winter Classic was originally scheduled to take place in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Wild were to take on the St. Louis Blues at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, on Jan. 1, 2021.
All-Star Weekend was scheduled for Jan. 29-30, 2021 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers.
The NHL said it fully intends to schedule both events for Minnesota and Florida in the "near future."
Mayer said they are looking for ways fans can get involved, as they are forced to stay out of arenas for the near future.
"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," he said.
They noted in the statement regarding the postponement that the news has nothing to do with when the season will start and does not indicate a change from their intended Jan. 1 start date.
