The Toronto Maple Leafs will indeed celebrate their centennial season with an outdoor game.
In a rematch of the 2014 Winter Classic, and as part of its season-long centennial celebration, Toronto will host the Detroit Red Wings at BMO Field on Jan. 1 in the first-ever NHL Centennial Classic, the league confirmed Wednesday.
The Leafs will host the Red Wings in the 2017 @NHL #CentennialClassic. #TMLtalk
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 9, 2016
INFO: https://t.co/KeBe7uzdTa pic.twitter.com/J6kg707kvu
Though BMO Field is currently undergoing expansion, the open-air facility cannot house the over 105,000 people who attended the Maple Leafs' 3-2 shootout win over the Red Wings at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor back in 2014.
The home to Toronto FC, the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, and the 2016 Grey Cup, fits almost 31,000, and will serve as a rather intimate setting for a colossal event.
In addition to the outdoor showcase, Toronto will host the NHL-branded 2016 World Cup of Hockey next fall, an event that will effectively kick-start a season aimed to celebrate 100 years of Maple Leafs hockey.
The St. Louis Blues are expected to host the Chicago Blackhawks at Busch Stadium in the annual Winter Classic. It's unclear, as of now, how the NHL will schedule its two marquee events.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman T.J. Brennan from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.
Brennan is expected to fill in for the injured Viktor Loov when the Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders on Wednesday, according to Leafs TV's Paul Hendrick.
Brennan is once again leading the AHL in scoring by defensemen with 22 goals and 55 points, and ranks third overall.
The 26-year-old dressed in six games with the Maple Leafs last season, managing just one assist.
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Barry Trotz stays up late.
The Washington Capitals coach - who's perhaps had an observant eye on the Western Conference heavyweight Los Angeles Kings all season long - was the latest hockey mind to weigh in on the enduring Drew Doughty-Norris Trophy debate ahead of their marquee clash Wednesday night.
And he heaped strong praise onto the Kings' workhorse.
"He's probably been the best defenseman this year in my opinion," Trotz said, according to Yahoo's Josh Cooper.
The debate, and this line of thinking, is nothing new, of course. Doughty is objectively great and universally extolled, especially by those inside the sport.
But with volume-scoring Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson having a career season offensively, it appears likely that Doughty will once again finish in the bridesmaid position.
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New York Islanders netminder Jaroslav Halak will miss a minimum of six weeks after suffering an injury in Tuesday's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced.
Backup Thomas Greiss will start Wednesday night versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, and shoulder the bulk of the duties down the stretch with Halak out for at least the rest of the regular season.
Greiss has been quite useful for the Islanders in what's been the busiest campaign of his seven-year career. He owns a .930 save percentage in 29 total appearances, with 18 wins to his credit.
Halak suffered the apparent lower-body injury late in what proved to be his 200th NHL win when he made a push to get in position to defend a shot from Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley.
New York has a five-point lead and two games in hand on the Penguins for the final guaranteed postseason spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Jean-Francois Berube represents the Islanders' third option in goal.
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The NHL has closed its independent investigation in regards to sexual assault allegations made against Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane this past summer.
The league released the following statement:
The National Hockey League announced today that it has completed its independent review of the Patrick Kane matter, the final stage of which included an in-person meeting between Kane and Commissioner Gary Bettman in New York on Monday, March 7.
Based on its review, including the determination made by the Erie County District Attorney not to pursue charges, the NHL has concluded that the allegations made against Kane were unfounded. The League considers the matter closed and will have no further comment.
The league announced it would conduct a review in November after it was determined that Kane would not be charged with sexual assault.
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One Philadelphia Flyers fan has taken Shayne Gostisbehere's nickname to a whole new level.
Instead of filling out the nameplate with, well, his name, this fan requested the ghost and bear emojis now commonly used to refer to the rookie defenseman.
(Courtesy: r/flyers)
Thumbs way up for this creation.
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