NHL postpones Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend in 2021

The NHL has postponed the 2021 All-Star Weekend and the Winter Classic, the league announced Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild were scheduled to take on the St. Louis Blues at Target Field in Minneapolis on New Year's Day, and the Florida Panthers were slated to host All-Star Weekend on Jan. 29-30. The league adds that it intends to return to each city for these signature events in the near future.

"Fan participation, both in arenas and stadiums as well as in the ancillary venues and events that we stage around the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend, is integral to the success of our signature events," said NHL senior executive vice president Steve Mayer.

"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 added. "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."

The postponements don't impact the league's targeted start date of Jan. 1 for the upcoming season.