“It’ll put the sport of hockey center stage and the City of Detroit too. We all root for Detroit want to see it get through the tough times and hopefully eliminate that (negative) image it has.

“They’re a very proud people over there and we’re proud of them. Let’s get hockey, let’s get the Wings back on the ice and we’ll all be very happy about it.”

-Bob Kaser, VP of Community Relations for the Grand Rapids Griffins on the Winter Classic. More from Lindsey Smith of Michigan Radio.