The Fan Hub

The 2013 NHL Winter Classic at the University of Michigan football stadium is all but official now, as the university’s Board of Regents approved the renting of the Big House to the NHL for the annual New Years Day outdoor game. With a capacity of over 110,000 spectators, even if they are unable to sell out the stadium, the location means that the league is pretty much guaranteed to eclipse every attendance record that they currently have. The official announcement for the game, which will feature the Detroit Red Wings against the Toronto Maple Leafs, will come on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Detroit media is already speculating on the the spectacle being the impetus for future Hall of Famer and seven-time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom to return for what would be his 21st NHL season. The Wings captain will be 43 years old by the time the 2012-13 season ends and has been playing on one-year deals for the past few seasons to keep his retirement options open, but is not yet ready to comment on his future beyond this year. And frankly, for a player who has won the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold Medal and will go down as in history as one of the five greatest defensemen in the history of the sport, an outdoor game in a football stadium isn’t likely to hold that much cache.