According to ESPN, the NHL is in the final planning stages of its outdoor stadium series scheduled for next season. The series will include six games — including both American and Canadian teams. The games will be played in various football and baseball stadiums across North America.

The first game will be the rescheduled and much-anticipated matchup in Ann Arbor at the “Big House” — the largest stadium in North American – between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The next five games will follow in the coming weeks proceeding the Winter Classic. The report includes cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver — additional cities will be announced in the next two weeks.

One game to have leaked is an All-California matchup at Dodger Stadium between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 25. This will be one of three games outdoor games scheduled that week leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014, in New Jersey.

The league would like to schedule two of those games in the New York area during Super Bowl week — both featuring the New York Rangers. The plan proposes two outdoor games at Yankee Stadium on Jan. 26 and Jan. 29. The Rangers would play the New Jersey Devils in the first game and the New York Islanders would make the trip down the Long Island Expressway on the 29th — oddly enough the Rangers would be the visiting team in both contests.

The next two games will take place after the Super Bowl during Hockey Week Across America — which starts Feb. 28 and runs through Mar. 2. One of the NFL’s most popular stadiums, Solider Field, will host one of those games. The Pittsburgh Penguins will make the trip out to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Mar. 1 — the last outdoor game in Chicago was in 2009 at Chicago’s other classic park, Wrigley Field.

On Mar. 2 the last outdoor game will take place. The Vancouver Canucks will host the third Canadian-based Heritage Classic in a matchup against the Ottawa Senators at B.C. Place.

“We set the bar pretty high on all these. If you’re going into a market that’s had [a Winter Classic], the bar is high,” NHL chief operating officer John Collins told ESPN.com’s Craig Custance. “If you’re going into a market that hasn’t had it and they’ve seen it, they’ve heard about it and they want to experience it. The bar is possibly even higher for them.”

What the people want is what the people get — eventually. Man, are we in for a show next season.

The Maple Leafs and Red Wings will square off at Michigan Stadium on New Year’s Day wearing uniforms that pay respect to the rich history of each organization.

“Each NHL Winter Classic uniform is an embodiment of that team’s core brand values and represents memorable milestones in that team’s history,” said Brian Jennings, NHL executive vice president of marketing. “To our fans, the NHL Winter Classic jersey is the ultimate keepsake from this extraordinary event, and with two Original Six franchises participating this year, we have created something quite special.”

The Red Wings will sport red-and-white uniforms featuring horizontal stripes and arch Detroit wording. The crest on the front is an early iteration of the iconic winged wheel from the late 1930s Red Wings.

Toronto will wear royal blue uniforms featuring white stripes inspired by the 1930s Maple Leafs. The crest will feature a distinct typeface from the inaugural Maple Leafs logo that was revealed in 1927.

Check out the jerseys in the photo below.

Photo via Facebook/NHL

According to TheStar.com's Damien Cox, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will announce the cancellation of this year's Winter Classic on Friday afternoon. The Associated Press reported that "a person familiar with the situation" is confirming that the Winter Classic will be canceled, as well.

"There were reports today that the NHL was considering waiting for another two weeks to cancel the game," Cox writes. "But league sources say that the logistics of the event, all the tickets and hotels and part-time workers required to hold events in two different locations, all conspired to make holding the event with less than 60 days to pull it off became impractical."

Nick Kypreos of Canada's Sportsnet is reporting that sponsors have been notified that the game will be canceled.

Sources saying sponsors r being notified the #NHL Winter classic gm' will be cancelled. An official announcement coming as early as 2pm est

— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) November 2, 2012

The New Year's Day game was scheduled to take place at The Big House in Michigan between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs.

Dodgers president Stan Kasten proposed the idea of hosting the Jan. 1 game at iconic Dodger Stadium with the San Gabriel Mountains providing the scenic backdrop.

While it may seem crazy to drop the NHL’s marquee midseason event into the land of palm trees and Baywatch, the game could work in a warm-weather locale.

The Kings and Rangers played an outdoor exhibition game at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas back in 1991, and Wayne Gretzky and the boys didn’t drown in the melted ice. With two more decades of technological improvements, it would certainly be possible to make acceptable outdoor ice in L.A. now.

The issue isn’t a matter of climate, but of timing. I’ve long thought that a warm-weather Winter Classic was all but inevitable, and it would be a welcome change of pace at some point. But it’s too early in the event’s run to consider it now.

The Winter Classic hasn’t lost any of its luster yet. If anything, it continues to grow in popularity, and there is no shortage of venues yet to try to keep that chilly charm for the foreseeable future. Before the NHL looks for some New Year’s beachfront property, there are still ski lodges in Colorado to explore, not to mention Target Field in frigid Minnesota or even the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field if the league is willing to look outside of its immediate markets.

Yankee Stadium is unavailable for now due to a commitment to a college football bowl game, but that remains a site the NHL is sure to use at some point. Giants Stadium and the Mets’ Citi Field could be options if the league wants to hit the Big Apple sooner. The Flyers and Penguins have each already hosted a Winter Classic, but a Keystone Clash at Penn State could still happen, or how about a return to the Boston area with a game at Gillette Stadium?

Washington D.C., Columbus (the Horseshoe at Ohio State anyone?), St. Louis and a trek north of the border to Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto or Montreal (Edmonton and Calgary have already hosted Heritage Classics) could work as well.

So there’s no need to rush to a warm-weather site. That could be perfect in a decade or so if the event starts to get a bit stale. Then a “Winter Classic in the Tropics” theme could be perfect, whether it be in Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa or even Phoenix if the league is still trying to keep that market alive.

So Kasten isn’t wrong that the Winter Classic could work at Dodger Stadium. He’s just a little ahead of time. LA fans, be patient, enjoy the Cup Final and give it a few years, and the Winter Classic and Hollywood just might be a perfect combination.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Dodgers president Stan Kasten wants to host the Winter Classic at Dodger Stadium, provided the NHL is willing to roll the dice on a warm-weather venue for one of its premier events.

“Facility-wise, we could certainly handle it,” Kasten told the Los Angeles Times, pointing out that the technology exists to allow the game to take place in the sunny California weather.

“They put a man on the moon,” echoed Dodgers chairman Mark Walter. “They can make it work.”

The league has announced that the 2013 Winter Classic will take place on New Years’ Day at Michigan Stadium, pitting the Detroit Red Wings against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Los Angeles, however, is a far cry from the cold climes of the Classic’s previous stops in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

That's what Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is explaining in a recent blog post, denying reports in the nation's capital that his team may be in line to host an upcoming Winter Classic.

"There has NOT been any communication to us on a formal basis as to a Winter Classic coming to D.C. in a specific year," Leonsis wrote, continuing that the Capitals are definitely not hosting in 2013. He does, however, indicate that the Capitals are in the mix for a future Classic game, just that nothing official has been discussed.

Leonsis also makes sure to squash a rumor that the team would play its Classic on the National Mall, noting that the lack of common areas to build seats, let alone team locker rooms, would prevent them from doing so.

"I am sure that one day -– when a Winter Classic does come to D.C.; we will be creative and have fun and put on a great show," Leonsis writes. "But that day is not today."

But for the veteran members of the club who have been in Boston for a few years, their thoughts will be on Fenway Park. That's where the Bruins hosted the Flyers in the 2010 Winter Classic, and that day remains a career highlight for the participants, rivaling just about everything short of last spring's Stanley Cup victory. 

"It was really cool," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said. "Just being around [Boston] and being to Fenway a lot, then being able to skate on that ice. Coming out of the dugout and seeing the Fenway sign was one of the more memorable, probably one of the top five most memorable moments of my career. Maybe top three, take the two Cups out and that's probably it."

Less than half of the Bruins dressed for that Winter Classic remain with the team just two years later. Only forwards Thornton, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Daniel Paille, defensemen Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk and goalies Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask remain with the club from that Winter Classic roster, with the other 11 players dressed having moved on. But the Bruins who did experience the excitement of that day still look back fondly at the opportunity to play in such a spectacle.

That's especially true for Thomas, a Flint, Mich., native. That experience provided one of the few bright spots in a season that saw Thomas lose his starting job to Rask as he struggled with a hip injury that eventually needed offseason surgery.

"That was definitely, for myself personally, one of the highlights of that year for me," Thomas said. "That and going to the Olympics kind of saved that year for me. It was a lot of fun playing in the outdoor venue. As an American, playing in a baseball stadium meant possibly a little more to me than it could have meant to maybe a Canadian or Finnish guy. You have conflicted dreams growing up as an American. Even if you're a hockey player, part of you dreams are of being a baseball player too. So that was cool. And being a history buff, playing in a historic venue like Fenway Park was special too."

Thomas' two highlights for that season came together when the 2010 U.S. Olympic team was announced after the Winter Classic, and he got a chance to skate on the Fenway ice in a Team USA sweater as well as a Bruins one in the postgame ceremony.

"It was cool," Thomas said. "It was cool having Jim Craig there and wishing me luck going into the Olympics. That was a special day for me. And winning in overtime was a big part of that. If we don't win that game and we lose in overtime, I'd still have good memories of it and good memories of the experience, but it's like we won the Stanley Cup last year and that makes the memory so much more special than just going to the Stanley Cup Final and losing."

Bruins coach Claude Julien also has plenty of good memories from the Bruins' 2-1 overtime win at Fenway, as well as all of the other activities that surrounding the event. That included a particularly memorable practice in a snowstorm the day before the game.

"It was a great experience," Julien said. "All the stuff we went through even before the game. The day before and the preparation and the day of and how excited everybody was. It was a real, real great experience for our hockey club."

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Great One has declined to participate in the 2012 Winter Classic alumni game, according to ESPN.

Gretzky texted that he will “be with his family for the holidays,” continuing, “[fans] don’t need to see a 50-year-old slow guy out there!”

Judging by the love Mario Lemieux (and his hat) got last year playing in the Classic at Heinz Field, you would think that’s exactly what fans would want to see. But you wouldn’t find many people out there ready to call Gretzky “slow” without seeing him lace up some skates first.

While the article doesn’t rule out a change of heart for Gretzky, it doesn’t look good. For now, fans watching the alumni game will have to comfort themselves with the likes of Eric Lindros instead. Ugh.

To see Sturm's Winter Classic winner, check out the video below.

To vote for Sturm's game-winner as Boston's Greatest Sports Moment, click here. 

To see the entire bracket, click here.

Share your thoughts about Boston's Greatest Sports Moment on Twitter at @NESN. Include #BGSM in your tweet.

1. Red Sox win 2004 World SeriesBy now, every Red Sox fan probably has replayed Joe Castiglione’s call of the final out of the 2004 World Series in his or her head hundreds, maybe even thousands of times: “[Keith] Foulke to the set, the 1-0 pitch, here it is … swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball’s world championship. Can you believe it?” For Red Sox fans — whether they had been followers for 10, 20, 50 or even 86 years – the moment was surreal. With a full moon over Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Boston’s beloved Red Sox were finally champs for the first time since 1918. Their sweep over the Cardinals ended that infamous curse and sparked one of the largest championship celebrations Boston has ever seen.

16. Marco Sturm’s Winter Classic game-winnerBoston teams have provided fans with plenty of walk-off wins in Fenway Park’s nearly 100-year history. None of those wins, however, have been hockey-related. Until Jan. 1, 2010. America’s Most Beloved Ballpark hosted the NHL Winter Classic, pitting the Bruins against Eastern Conference foe Philadelphia. The game certainly lived up to its billing as a classic. After the two teams played to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, the New Year’s Day game went to overtime. With just over three minutes to go before a shootout, Bruins center Patrice Bergeron received a pass on the left side before sending the puck in front of the Flyers’ net. Waiting there was Marco Sturm, and the winger tipped the puck in to send the nearly 40,000 fans into a fenzy. The ending was a different kind of walk-off for the Fenway faithful, but the fans celebrated just the same.

« 2. Roberts steals second vs. 15. ‘Vibrating building’ | 8. Russell 30-40 in ‘62 vs. 9. Manny ALDS blast »

Share your thoughts about Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment on Twitter at @NESN. Include #BGSM in your tweet.

Rumored photos have been circulating the Internet, claiming to be the jerseys for the New Year's Day showdown between the Flyers and Rangers.

The latest photo, released by a New York Rangers blog, Bleeding All Blue, has the classic Rangers shield on a white jersey trimmed in red and blue. With Mark Messier on the back of the rumored jersey, it's possible that someone is again just testing the waters.

However, they do look similar to earlier online photos, though this one has "Rangers" written in white, not red.

The Flyers, who lost to the Bruins at Fenway Park on Marco Sturm's overtime winner in 2010, were swept from the playoffs by Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals this season. However, the club has made some major roster moves recently. Top goal scorer Jeff Carter and team captain Mike Richards were traded to make room for newly acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Unlike in years past, this season's Winter Classic will not be held on New Year's Day. Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday this calendar year and the NHL does not want to go head-to-head with the NFL. The game will be held Monday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. There is no scheduled Monday Night Football game that night, according to Yahoo Sports.

This will be a New York team's first appearance in the Winter Classic since its first installment in 2008.

Philadelphia isn't necessarily a winter wonderland. In eight of the last 11 winters, temperatures averaged above freezing, according to MTR.

The NHL has been selective in who it chooses for its annual outdoor tradition. Two teams, Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh Penguins, have already had multiple appearances.

Three teams that have competed in the Winter Classic have gone on to win the Stanley Cup the following season. The Penguins played in 2008, and won in 2009. The Chicago Blackhawks played in 2009, and won in 2010. The Bruins played in 2010, and won in 2011.

We began 2010 with an outdoor hockey game at Fenway Park. The Winter Classic was classic indeed, a mild winter’s day that saw the Bruins win in overtime. It was a day that reminded us that Boston truly is a great hockey town, ice and grit permanently mixed into its DNA.

Unfortunately for the B’s, it was the high point in a season that wouldn’t end for another four months. For the second straight year, Claude Julien’s boys were KO’d on home ice in Game 7. What could be worse than 2009, when the local hockey season ended in OT at home? How about a season that ended with a pair of blown 3-0 leads? Let’s hope we never find out what’s worse than that.

As we sit around with family and friends discussing New Year’s resolutions, let’s remember that what matters most is where you stand physically and mentally at the end of the year. And, in these waning hours of 2010, it’s hard to be in a much better position than our local sports teams.

It was a disappointing year for our boys of summer. The Red Sox missed the postseason for just the second time in eight years and ratings (both TV and radio) fell dramatically. All that was forgotten by December with the addition of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Bobby Jenks. That ole’ Theo Epstein Magic is back — somehow we’ll even give him credit for making sure Cliff Lee stayed out of the American League.

Christmas at Fenway was festive indeed … and, suddenly, that sellout streak doesn’t seem to be on life support anymore, does it?

Epstein is following the Danny Ainge blueprint to build a contender. The Celtics have been The Team to Beat in the East ever since Ainge engineered the trades to bring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to town.  They are once again, but it’s no longer just the Big Three. Rajon Rondo is one of the best point guards in the game and Shaquille O’Neal has brought swagger and style to the parquet.

Forget about LeBron James and The Decision (perhaps the most embarrassing sports moment of 2010), the Celtics will be favored over the Heat this spring as long as KG hangs in there. Bring on the Lakers — it’s time for another bicoastal battle in June.

Watching Garnett go down this week reminds us of Wes Welker’s injury one year ago. In a meaningless game, on a play where Welker wasn’t touched, the wide receiver tore ligaments in his left knee on the final game of 2009. The injury ended his season and the Patriots’ hopes of playoff success. A week later, they were embarrassed on home turf by the Ravens.

Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it? In fact, September feels like a long time ago. That’s when Laurence Maroney and Randy Moss were alongside Tom Brady in an offense that was going to have to overcome the youth and inexperience of the defense to get this team to the promised land. Now, Maroney and Moss are gone and the defense is holding its own, thank you very much. The Pats aren’t just the best team in the AFC going into the playoffs, they’re the best team in football. Anything short of a Super Bowl appearance is going to be a disappointment.

So we’ve got three championship contenders in our midst heading into 2011. Could we have four? The Bruins have been maddeningly inconsistent, yet they finish the year in first place. We know that doesn’t matter much — last year’s Eastern Conference Finals pitted the seventh and eighth seeds against one another — but the recent surge of seven points in the last four games is enough to quiet the critics who have called for Julien’s ouster.

All in all, there’s no better time to be a Boston sports fan. Yep, the rest of the country hates us once again … which is right where you want to be as we ring out the old and bring in the new.

While the matchup seems logical, given that the game’s two most recognizable and marketable players –     Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin — will be taking the ice, it has some fans a bit disgruntled that the Penguins will be taking part in the event for the second time in its brief four-year history.

Fans of other teams — particularly Canadian teams — are wondering when their Winter Classic time will come.

Sure, the NHL will have a second outdoor game sometime in February at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium between the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens. But it’s not the same thing.

All of this got us thinking.

What other venues should host an outdoor game in the future, particularly the New Year’s Day spectacle? The game should undoubtedly be played at a place that is unique, fun and able to create a buzz in order to benefit the NHL.

Here is a list of 10 places that should be considered in the future. Some are a little more unorthodox than others.

10. Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada

Sure, Las Vegas doesn’t have a hockey team, but that didn’t stop them before. Caesars Palace actually hosted the first-ever outdoor NHL game on Sept. 27, 1991, when the Los Angeles Kings took on the New York Rangers in an exhibition game.

It was 80 degrees and there were 13,000 fans in attendance to see Wayne Gretzky and the Kings beat the Rangers 5-2.

There may have been some complications regarding the ice, but nearly 20 years later, the NHL should have no trouble finding a way to get a Caesars Palace game right.

As far as the competing teams, there are plenty of options — including a rematch of the first time around — with this game counting in the standings.

The bright lights of the Vegas strip don’t exactly resemble the hockey-on-the-pond kind of atmosphere like the Winter Classic has come to symbolize, but it could be an interesting concept.

9. Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Isn’t it time to welcome hockey back to Winnipeg?

Let’s face it, Winnipeg probably deserves an NHL team more than many of the markets that have one. This would serve as an opportunity for those in the Manitoba province of Canada to see what they are missing out on these days.

Canad Inns Stadium is currently home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and seats almost 30,000.

A new stadium has been approved for the University of Manitoba campus grounds, and is expected to open in 2012, which could potentially be an appealing venue if the NHL elected to go in this direction.

Nevertheless, a sellout in this hockey-hungry city is a given, and a Winter Classic could go a long way toward establishing an NHL presence there once again.

8. Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington

Like the Manitoba idea, this could also go a long way toward establishing a hockey presence in a market currently without a team — Seattle.

While there are some Vancouver Canucks fans in the area, more could be done by the team to market in the Northwest region of the United States, which is without a team.

Putting the Canucks in a game at Husky Stadium could bring the NHL to the Emerald City, and provide a classic venue.

Husky Stadium is regarded as one of college football’s loudest, and though a Winter Classic may not result in the level of noise that the stadium usually reaches for a college football game, it could be a good change of pace and should attract plenty of Canucks fans.

BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, could also be a potential destination if the NHL elected to go in the Northwest direction.

7. Coors Field, Denver, Colorado

The NHL has shown a willingness to turn to baseball parks as potential outdoor destinations. Coors Field would fit that mold. The climate seems just right for winter hockey, and the setting could include a unique aspect.

What if the Colorado Avalanche took on the New Jersey Devils, who for one night could return as their former alias — the Colorado Rockies?

It would be an opportunity for the current Colorado franchise to face off against the former Colorado franchise.

Of course, the Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils in 1982.

Perhaps such a Winter Classic could even take place during an anniversary year of the move.

To add even more irony to the mix, the game would be played at the home of the current Colorado Rockies (the baseball team).

The game could be just as special as it is confusing, with the Rocky Mountains painting an attractive backdrop.

6. Beaver Stadium (Penn State University), College Park, Pennsylvania

According to MapQuest, Beaver Stadium on the Penn State University campus is a three hour and 29 minute drive from the Wachovia Center (home of the Philadelphia Flyers) and a two hour and 37 minute drive from the Mellon Arena (home of the Pittsburgh Penguins). In essence, this could be the Pennsylvania War.

While putting the Pittsburgh Penguins in their third Winter Classic game and the Philadelphia Flyers in their second sounds silly, this matchup could be awesome to have at some point.

As a matter of fact, given the recent success of both teams, there may be no time like the present.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, after losing in the finals in 2008. They have the history, the current success, the fan base and the face of the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers are currently battling with the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, and would provide a gritty matchup against the more finesse Penguins.

In fact, there already has been a Facebook group created in an effort to get this exact game played.

The drawback here, though, is whether there would be any league-wide interest in a Classic featuring two teams from the same state.

5. Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia

The NHL has shown a desire to go global in recent seasons. In fact, the 2010-11 season will begin with three games played in Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Prague, Czech Republic.

If the league is going to continue with this trend, why not experiment with an outdoor Classic overseas?

With the amount of superstars hailing from Russia in the NHL, it makes a lot of sense.

As a matter of fact, Russia already has hosted the KHL All-Star Game outdoors in Red Square, which was deemed a success.

If the NHL elected to branch out, the Russian population would probably love the prospect of seeing Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk or any of their other talented superstars on one of hockey’s biggest stages.

There are a number of other overseas venues that could host such an event, but Luzhniki Stadium, which is used mainly for soccer (or football, as it’s referred to over there), is the biggest in Russia.

Sweden is another overseas country that has had success with an outdoor game in the past, although it was not NHL-sanctioned.

4. Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, Texas

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is trying to do just about everything with his new $1.3 billion stadium.

Cowboys Stadium has hosted the NBA All-Star Game and will be home of Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

As for other plans, Jones has some in mind. They include hosting the World Cup, installing a swimming pool for Olympic swimming competitions, and yes, bringing hockey to the Lone Star State.

“We could obviously do something like that,” Jones told ESPN.com. “We’ve had communication with the NHL.”

Hockey in Dallas doesn’t exactly scream tradition, but why not use the owner and his embarrassment of riches to benefit the NHL?

3. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Another warm-weather location that strays a bit from the “classic” aspect of the New Year’s Day competition, Dodger Stadium would still be an interesting choice to play host.

We’ve already had Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, so why not Dodger Stadium? Having been built in 1966, it is the third-oldest ballpark in the major leagues.

Plus, the Los Angeles Kings are a franchise on the rise. The game could feature some young stars of the future, including Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick, and would satisfy those NHL fans in California who consistently get overlooked when it comes to these kinds of talks.

2. Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario

The Toronto Maple Leafs have seen better days after finishing with the second-worst record in the NHL in 2009-2010. Still, they deserve to play in a Winter Classic.

Besides being an Original Six team and the lifeblood of their city, the Leafs have shown that they will pull out all the stops in an effort to put a winning squad on the ice. This was made evident by their massive roster overhaul this past season.

A Rogers Centre Winter Classic also could allow for another Canadian team to join the festivities. The Ottawa Senators or Montreal Canadiens are two teams that could make the trip and provide a solid matchup for the Leafs.

Olympic Stadium in Montreal could be another possible Canadian host venue, but a game there would defeat the purpose of the outdoor concept.

If the roof were to stay open at the Rogers Centre for a showdown on New Year’s Day, however, the event could potentially generate a lot of interest, draw a big crowd and thus be a success for the NHL.

1. Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Bringing the Winter Classic to the original Yankee Stadium has been talked about since the NHL started its recent string of outdoor games, yet it hasn’t unfolded the way that many anticipated. Still, bringing the game to the new Yankee Stadium makes too much sense not to occur.

After all, the new stadium needs some memories of its own — although last year’s World Series certainly helped take care of that –  and an outdoor hockey game could do the trick.

Yankee Stadium is already going to be hosting a boxing match on Saturday night, and will be hosting Jay-Z and Eminem in the stadium’s first concert on Sept. 13.

Throw in a Rangers-Islanders New York rivalry game, or even a Rangers showdown with a Canadian team or the Bruins, and the new Yankee Stadium will be in the process of building quite the resume in its short history.

Everything associated with the New York market is big time, so such a game seems like even more of a no-brainer for the NHL.

A 2014 game with a 20th anniversary celebration of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion Rangers sounds about right.

Such is the case with Dustin Pedroia, who created a tough act for himself to follow after winning a Rookie of the Year award, Gold Glove, AL MVP award and, oh yeah, a World Series trophy in his first 300 or so games of his big league career.

Still just 26 years old, Pedroia's rapidly morphing into a veteran on the Red Sox, and with Jason Bay's departure from the lineup leaving a hole in offensive production, he'll have to pick up some of the slack.

"Everyone is going to have good at-bats and put them together in a row to score a lot of runs," Pedroia told The Boston Globe earlier this spring. "We'll do that. We'll be better than a lot of people think."

If Pedroia needs any inspiration, all he has to do is look to his left. With Kevin Youkilis at first base, Pedroia has a model of consistency next to him in the field. At the plate, Youkilis has stepped up his game more and more each year, developing from a patient contact hitter into a patient power hitter. Together, they are the future of the Red Sox' lineup, but they can still learn a lot from each other.

Another benefit for Pedroia will be the comfort of knowing his spot. He'll be penciled into the No. 2 spot of Terry Francona's lineup card about 150 times this summer, and he won't have to change much to get back to an MVP-caliber season.

Regarding Pedroia, the perception that 2009 was a year of regression is largely off base. Yes, his batting average dropped 30 points (from .326 to .296), but the rest of his numbers across the board remained at, near or better than those from 2008. Here's a look at the numbers:

There are also some fair explanations as to why Pedroia didn't take major strides forward statistically in 2009. One was that he was asked to bat leadoff for 25 games, and it was a position in which he clearly struggled. With Jacoby Ellsbury experiencing his own troubles atop the order, Francona called upon Pedroia to fill in, just as he did the previous year in the cleanup spot. Batting cleanup for a few games in '08, Pedroia crushed it. Batting leadoff in '09, he didn't.

Pedroia batted just .219 in the top spot, striking out eight times and walking 10. The strikeout-to-walk comparison was far off his total numbers for the year, and it was clear the change in approach did not suit him well.

Yet even more difficult to overcome than something as simple as a changing spot in the batting order were the off-the-field issues Pedroia dealt with. His wife, Kelli, was having pregnancy complications that kept him from going to his second consecutive All-Star Game. He and his family also became targets of ridicule and hate mail, due to Pedroia's comments about his hometown and the arrest and subsequent conviction of his brother.

"It was tough," Pedroia recently told ESPN.com. "I dealt with a lot of [stuff] last year. My biggest thing was, you just got to find a way to get through it. When I got to the yard, I tried to concentrate on baseball. When I got home, I had to do all I could to keep everything under control, or at least make it seem like it was under control."

Now, his off-the-field distractions have been cleared, and he should be ready to take steps forward in 2010. The transition from overperforming youngster to reliable veteran is a tall task, but Pedroia's made a living out of answering those calls.

From now until Opening Day, NESN.com will run down 25 things that need to happen for the Red Sox to win the World Series.

March 15: Have a healthy resolution to the Mike Lowell situation.

DeLeo, pointing to the success of the recent Winter Classic between the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park, sent a letter National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman asking for a permanent, annual outdoor Bruins hockey game in the Greater Boston area.

The Winthrop Democrat said an annual outside game could help solidify the league's base in the area and help ensure a healthy future for the game.

DeLeo said the event, which drew a sellout crowd of more than 38,000, was an economic boon in the midst of an economic slump.

The Bruins beats the Flyers 2-1 on an overtime goal.

First, The Buzz recaps the Boston Bruins Legends Classic with alumni interviews, celebrity interviews, Charlie Jacobs and Tom Werner Mic'd up, and Ken Casey & Lyndon Byers dropping the gloves. The show also takes a look at Ken Casey and the Dropkick Murphys' new charity The Claddagh Fund.

Later in the show, local artist Brian Fox visits The Buzz to discuss his part in the Winter Classic, and we close out the Winter Classic with our Winter Classic Wrap-Up.

Don't miss The Buzz, right here on NESN.

But this wasn’t a workout, it was a wonder.

“It was definitely the best Christmas
present of the year,” goalie Molly Schaus said Monday on the ice at
Fenway Park, with her mother and father watching and her brother taking
pictures of their peewee-sized cousins skittering around on the ice.
“Just walking out of that dugout … I never want to leave.”

The NHL turned Fenway into a hockey
rink for the Winter Classic, an annual New Year’s Day game that has
turned into one of the highlights of the regular season. The Boston
Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime in this year’s Classic,
and the rink has rarely been silent since then.

It has been used for public skating,
for an NHL legends game and for high school teams willing to pay the
reported $10,000 hourly fee. On Friday there will be a college hockey
doubleheader — the Northeastern and New Hampshire women in the
afternoon and the men’s teams from Beanpot rivals Boston University and
Boston College at night.

“The locker room erupted” when they
were told that their Christmas present from the coaches was the chance
to skate at Fenway, defenseman Angela Ruggiero said. “We’ve been
training all year in Minnesota, and for us Boston kids, it’s obviously
a chance of a lifetime.”

Ruggiero has played in all three
Olympics since women’s hockey became an official sport — winning gold,
silver and bronze. But it was while at Harvard that she got up close to
Fenway Park, the nation’s oldest ballpark, and became a baseball fan.

“I’ve bought seats I don’t know how
many times to see the Red Sox and Yankees,” she said. “Fenway has such
history. We see a lot of NHL arenas, but the tradition of baseball,
Fenway, there’s nothing like that.”

The U.S. women played an all-star
team from the East Coast Athletic Conference in Hamden, Conn., on
Sunday night. The squad was flying out of Boston after practice for a
game on Tuesday against the University of Wisconsin, where U.S. coach
Mark Johnson played, and where he coached the Badgers to the NCAA
championship in Boston this spring.

“For me, it brings a lot of memories back,” Johnson said.

Working with the ECAC and the Red
Sox, the American women got a little more than an hour of ice time on
Monday morning, just before workers from a local hospital — and Red Sox
sponsor — filed in for their chance to skate. After the players cleared
the ice, Johnson chatted with “Miracle on Ice” teammate Mike Eruzione
and former U.S. women’s Olympic coach Ben Smith.

“It’s a great break for them. It’s a
long season and it’s good to have a fun practice,” said Eruzione, who’s
spent much of his time since winning the gold medal in 1980 as an
inspirational speaker and was planning to speak to this year’s team on
Monday. “I’ll tell them to enjoy the experience, because you never know
if it’s going to happen again.”

Forward Julie Chu didn’t need to be told.

“I don’t think we ever imagined we’d
get a chance to skate at Fenway Park,” she said. “Think this is such an
amazing setting. I enjoy just soaking it up.”

Chu is the NCAA all-time leading
scorer, winning the 2007 Patty Kazmaier award as the top player in
college hockey. She already has won Olympic silver and bronze medals,
but practicing in Fenway gave her a sense of what it will be like to
play Canada, the two-time defending gold medalists, in front of their
home crowd in Vancouver.

“You can appreciate the excitement
of the fans,” she said. “Canada’s a hockey hotbed. Being able to play
there in front of a crowd that’s excited about women’s hockey is
unbelievable.”

Charlie Jacobs

Watch and find out what happened when the men who run the Bruins and Red Sox dropped the gloves on the Fenway Park ice.

“This will go down as one of the most memorable days of my life, of my career,” Thomas said. “Winning — and the way that we won — and then being named to the Olympic team … I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for this."

Upon arriving at Fenway Park, Team USA GM Brian Burke notified Thomas that he had been selected to play for his country at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February — but the elation didn't last long. In the second period of a scoreless game, Thomas lost his cool in front of the net after being interfered with by Scott Hartnell, and as he was retaliating, Flyers forward Dany Syvret shot the puck into an empty net for a 1-0 lead.

That lead would stand until Mark Recchi scored a power-play goal with 2:18 left in regulation. Thomas then made a sequence of crucial saves for the Bruins in the second minute of overtime before Marco Sturm notched the game-winner with 3:03 left in the extra frame.

Thomas said after the game that he was very emotional when he learned he had been named to Team USA and he was happy he didn’t have to address it pregame, for fear it would become a distraction.

“I found out this morning but obviously I had to keep it quiet, which is good because I was able to control my emotions,” Thomas said. “I think I would have been a blubbering mess on national television if I would have found out right before.”

But Thomas would go from high to low in the second when his temper helped lead to the Flyers goal.

“The goal was basically because I lost my cool and I lost the puck,” Thomas admitted. “That made me mad when he [Hartnell] came that close. I retaliated but I just happened to be retaliating at the same time someone else was shooting.”

Thomas would acknowledge that the guilt for that goal weighed on him until Recchi’s game-tying tally with 2:18 left in regulation.

“At that point, I was very grateful to tie the game because, I mean, the goal was basically because I lost my cool and wasn’t following the puck,” he said.

But as Thomas pointed out, once that weight was lifted, it was time for him and his team to take home two points and send the Fenway faithful home with a smile.

“When we tied it up, it was very exciting but I wanted to take that one step further,” he said. “I think everybody on our bench wanted it so bad. When Marco scored the winner, that was one of the most incredible feelings that I can remember.”

As his teammates piled into the Red Sox dressing room, Thomas quickly changed into his Team USA jersey and was introduced on the ice as one of the newest members of the 2010 USA Olympic hockey squad.

“My family was here watching the game, my parents and it was just a great way to be named,” he said.

It was icing on the cake and one of the most memorable moments in Thomas' amazing journey.

“Between winning and the way that we won, and being named to the U.S. Olympic team, as I’ve said before, I’ve been waiting 30 years for this,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this opportunity. To be able to be named in front of your home crowd at Fenway Park, I mean, you add those things together, this is a story that will be told for the rest of my life.”