There is a report circulating that the worst kept secret at the 2012 NHL Winter Classic was the location of the next. The League will not say anything officially, but one hockey writer is saying that it will be in Detroit, possibly in Michigan's Big House.
Yahoo is the only one saying definatively with a high-level of certainty based on gathered information that they expect it to be in Detroit. Others merely speculate it makes the most sense given that only Washington, New York and Detroit haven't hosted yet of those that have played in the game, and Washington was just two years ago and New York this year. Some others just include Detroit on the list of possibilities along with Denver, Washington, Seattle, St. Louis, New York or the Twin Cities.
What kind of evidence do they point to? Yahoo says that Tom Wilson — President and CEO of Olympia Entertainment, which handles business operations for the Detroit Red Wings — was seen on-site in Philadelphia. They also point to the fact that Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch owns and operates Comerica Park, home to the Detroit Tigers, an alternative site for an outdoor game. There is also a possibility the NHL will join forces with the Great Lakes Invitational happening the week before the Classic.
There is no indication on the Red Wings website.
Almost everyone thinks that the opponent of a Detroit hosted Classic would be one of three possibilities: Toronto, Colorado, or a California team, most likely San Jose.
Michigan's Big House has already hosted an outdoor hockey event. Actually, they've hosted the most attended hockey game ever back in 2010, when 104,173 people saw Michigan play Michigan State. It ended in a tie. I would imagine the lobbying would go heavily towards the Park over the House by the Red Wings because one has to think the joint ownership of sporting venues would lead to Comerica Park being the choice site. But I very easily see the NHL wanting to more than double the number of people watching the game live and possibly go for a record.
Yahoo appears to be leading the charge here. They have the most confidence in themselves. Most other reports I can find quote the Yahoo story. And others may heavily hint that Detroit will be next, but they use words such as "likely" or "very good chance".
Compare that to the Yahoo article which is titled "After Detroit in 2013, Where Will the Winter Classic Go Next?" and contains phrases such as "worst kept secret" and "The NHL is keen on having this game at The Big House in Ann Arbor". They are certainly all-in.
Regardless of the language used in the different articles, the rumors are clearly pointing towards Detroit. The 2012 Winter Classic wasn't officially announced until September 26, 2011, although rumors were circulating long before that. The New York Times reported on June 22 that the Rangers would play in the game against the Flyers.
NHL schedules are released in late June traditionally, so we would be able to at least narrow down the field signficantly at that point if there are no better rumors or reports that surface between then and now.
If it is Detroit, I think it would likely be a conference opponent. Don't forget, the new alignment will be in effect then and it seems unfair to make two non-conference team play their only game against each other in Detroit at such an unconventional game. With all of the other Winter Classics, each matchup has happened between conference opponents meaning they played at least three traditional games against each other during the season (more if they were division opponents as well, like Philadelphia and New York). And at least one game was played in the Winter Classic's host team's normal home arena. Under the new system, teams will only play opponents outside their conference twice, once at home and once on the road meaning that an external opponent will not play in the arena of the host that regular season.
Detroit will be aligned with Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg. My vote? Winnipeg.
I'm not strictly oppossed to non-conference teams facing off in the Winter Classic; however, I do not think it is in the best competetive interest of teams to have their only meeting in a city for that season be such a grand spectacle and totally unusual compared to a normal, regular season matchup.
