The NHL announced Thursday that the Red Wings will host the Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium on the University of Michigan campus in the 2013 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.

Nicknamed "The Big House," Michigan Stadium is the largest stadium in North America. It is anticipated that the 2013 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic could set an all-time world attendance record for a hockey game. [READ]

The Canucks say Henrik Sedin has no broken bones in his right foot.

Coach Alain Vigneault said before Thursday night's game at Minnesota that a CT scan came back clean. Sedin took part in the morning skate, and Vigneault said Sedin would be a game-time decision against the Wild. [READ]

The Catholic church is asking people to pray for the last-place Montreal Canadiens.

The church has placed an ad in Montreal newspapers in hopes of an eighth-place finish and a spot in the playoffs. The ad shows the Eastern Conference standings with every team listed except the Canadiens. In eighth place, the final playoff spot, it simply says, "Let Us Pray." [READ]

The Hurricanes will attempt to re-sign Tuomo Ruutu rather than trade the forward, GM Jim Rutherford told ESPN.com Thursday.

Rutherford has had trade talks with other teams about Ruutu, who is slated for unrestricted free agency July 1, but met with the forward this week to gauge his thoughts on staying in Carolina. [READ]

Rangers head coach John Tortorella wants hockey to adopt an NFL-style review system for the last minute of a game, he said in a pregame news conference Thursday. [READ]

A new report released by the Conference Board of Canada says the country could support up to nine NHL teams, two more than the current number.

Quebec City and Hamilton are the most suitable cities for having a team, according to the report by the non-profit organization that studies economic trends in the country. [READ]

Wild captain Mikko Koivu has been cleared to return to the lineup after missing the past eight games with a left shoulder injury.

Coach Mike Yeo said before Thursday's game against Vancouver that he expected Koivu to be back on the first line, centering Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi to face the Canucks. [READ]

Henrik Sedin missed practice and underwent an X-ray and a CT scan Wednesday after injuring his right ankle in a win over Nashville on Tuesday night.

A team official told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun that the team expects to know the results of the scan by Thursday morning. [READ]

The 2013 NHL Winter Classic is one step closer to being played at Michigan Stadium.

In the special meeting Wednesday of the U. of Michigan Board of Regents, the group approved the license of Michigan Stadium for the Winter Classic.

"It's a great win for everybody," regent Andrea Fischer Newman said during a teleconference. [READ]

The Blue Jackets have signed left wing Vinny Prospal to a one-year contract extension through the 2012-13 season, club Executive Vice President and GM Scott Howson announced today.

Prospal has registered nine goals and 24 assists for 33 points and 18 penalty minutes in 53 games with the Blue Jackets this season. He ranks second on the club in points and is third (tied) in goals.

"We are very excited to have Vinny signed for another year," said Howson. "His leadership and play on the ice have certainly been positives for us this season." [READ]

The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenseman Derek Smith.

“Derek came to training camp this year on a two-way contract and played his way into our starting line-up,” said Flames General Manager Jay Feaster. “When Mark Giordano went down with his hamstring injury, Smitty stepped-up and shouldered an increased workload and did so in excellent fashion. Up until the time of his injury he was one of our best and most consistent defensemen. He is a sound two-way hockey player with very good hockey sense, and he has seamlessly fit into the chemistry of our team. We are very pleased to have him signed for the next two-seasons, and we look forward to his continued development as a player.” [READ]

Cam Fowler has put his focus on his defensive game this season after going minus-25 in 2010-11, but there has been a cost that comes with trying to improve in his own end. His other numbers are way down as he has just three goals and 15 assists.

"I don't think you can ever worry about defense too much because that's what I do," Fowler said. "My job is to keep the puck out of the net. And it's tough as an offensive defenseman to try and play that lockdown (defense) and try to get your points and contribute offensively.

"For whatever reason, the points haven't quite come for me as they did last year. Talking with Bruce, the most important thing is making sure I stick with the process." [READ]

The Leafs and Flyers are no longer discussing a trade of Luke Schenn for James van Riemsdyk.

Bob McKenzie of TSN writes, “James van Riemsdyk has a concussion, he’s not a factor for the Leafs at this point.”

Toronto is increasingly unlikely to make a trade.

“Three weeks to the deadline, and the Toronto Maple Leaf fans will hate to hear this but there is a very real chance the team doesn’t make a significant move between now and the trade deadline,” McKenzie writes. [READ]

The NHL will announce on Thursday that it will host the 2013 Winter Classic between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium.

A hockey game in December of 2010 between Michigan and Michigan State drew 104,173 gans. [READ]

As the Senators continue to slide, going 0-6-1 over their last seven games, GM Bryan Murray is likely to stand pat at the deadline.

"It just looks like we hit a wall on the latter part of the road trip last month and then we had the All-Star break," Murray told ESPN.com on Tuesday afternoon. "We came back from that an unfocused hockey club. We have to get that turned around." [READ]

Many teams from non-contenders have been signing their impending free agents to extensions instead of putting them on the trading block.

Stan Bowman is finding it difficult to improve the Blackhawks via trade in light of this trend.

"There are fewer players available," he said.

Bowman also said that teams are already planning for next season rather than gathering young assets. That means teams on the trade market aren't necessarily looking for prospects and picks, complicating things for a contender like Chicago.

"We're looking to add but I'm not going to create one hole to fill another," Bowman added.

The Blackhawks lost again last night as they continue to struggle on their West Coast trip.

Tim Gleason of the Hurricanes was one such player who signed an extension. [READ]

Mats Sundin remains a popular figure in Toronto as he was at a public event in the area on Tuesday.

“I haven’t,” Sundin said, when queried if he had been asked to step into a role in the NHL, less than two years after he retired.

“It’s been nice to take a couple of steps back and let my Leafs career sink in. My wife and I, we’re building a house,” he said. “It’s nice to rest and let your body heal.” [READ]

Ryan Kesler is beginning to play like he did in 10-11 when he won the Frank Selke Trophy.

“Kesler had the all-world series against us, that was one of those dominant performances,” Nashville Barry Trotz said Monday. “It didn’t matter if I had Suter-Weber or if I had Orr and Bourque back there, it didn’t matter. He was having one of those series that was very, very dominant.

“That just proves that a special player, be it a goaltender, a defenseman, a forward, if you get on the right kind of roll and have one of those series, you can really make a difference and he was the difference-maker in that series.”

Kesler acknowledged it was difficult not to be able to meet the high expectations placed on him by others and, more importantly, by himself.

“Everybody knows I set the bar high for myself,” he said. “It was tough when I wasn’t getting the results, but I guess that’s what happens when you have surgery. It takes a while to get the body back in game shape.” [READ]

Steve Yzerman is not yet giving up hope that the Lightning can salvage their season.

"Our team is winning,” Yzerman told ESPN.com. "My approach is that if there’s any deal that potentially can be done which makes our team better now or a better team in the future that’s worth doing, I’m prepared to do it. But at this point, nothing has made sense from my point of view."

There are 11 games between now and the trade deadline.

"It’s still a bit early for that in light of the fact that our team is playing reasonably well," Yzerman said. "The timing isn’t right to look at it that way. We have to keep seeing if we can keep climbing into this. ...

"We’ll see how we do in the next few games. We’ll see how it all plays out. There’s no rush to do anything. There haven’t been any difficult decisions to make at this point because any potential [trade] opportunities really haven’t made sense for us, short-term and long-term." [READ]

Jake Gardiner scored a goal in Toronto's 6-3 win on Monday over the Oilers.

Gardiner sat out for four games in mid-January because Ron Wilson believed he had hit the rookie wall.

"And now, he just seems to be energized again," Wilson said after Monday night’s victory. "Because his whole game is skating. If he’s not skating, he gets into trouble. Now you see him start to move his feet again. He’s a pretty effective player and hard to play against when he’s skating." [READ]

Owen Nolan, who hasn't played in the NHL since the 2009-10 season, announced his retirement Tuesday at the Sharks' home rink.

"I guess I've known this day was here for a while," said Nolan, a five-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist with Canada. "It's tough to give it up when your heart and mind wants to keep doing it. My body can't keep up and I had to accept that." [READ]

The Oilers announced Tuesday that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is out seven to 10 days with a sprained shoulder, according to an ESPN.com report.

The rookie forward did not play after taking a hit from Leafs winger Mike Brown early in the third period of the Oilers' loss in Toronto Monday night.
[READ]

Sharks GM Doug Wilson is tight-lipped all year, but even more so now with the Feb. 27 trade deadline less than three weeks away.

"Once we get in this month," Wilson said Monday, "I don't make any comment about anything."

Wilson will not address rumors. And beyond his standard response -- "We look every day for ways to improve this hockey team" -- he won't spell out his priorities, because that might cost him leverage. But here's some educated speculation:

San Jose should not be focused on adding a depth defenseman or a fourth-line grinder. Right now, the Sharks should be looking for a proven scorer for one of their top two forward lines. [READ]