Winter Classic Alumni Game 2014: Schedule, Rosters and More

Outdoor hockey is always a treat to watch, and it’s even better when some beloved veterans get a chance to play outside, like they will in this year’s Winter Classic alumni games.

Former greats from the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will square off in a doubleheader at Comerica Park in Detroit Tuesday before the current incarnations of the teams do so at the University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Wednesday.

Read on to learn about the schedule, the teams’ rosters and for a preview of the matchup.

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013

Time: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET

Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, Mich.

TV: NBC

Rosters

Detroit Red Wings

Name	Position
Alex Delvecchio	Forward
Kris Draper	Forward
Mickey Redmond	Forward
Dino Ciccarelli	Forward
Darren McCarty	Forward
John Ogrodnik	Forward
Joe Kocur	Forward
Ted Lindsay	Forward
Kirk Maltby	Forward
Igor Larionov	Forward
Martin Lapointe	Forward
Dallas Drake	Forward
Peter Klima	Forward
Brent Fedyk	Forward
Tomas Holstrom	Forward
Brendan Shanahan	Forward
Doug Brown	Forward
Pat Verbeek	Forward
Jimmy Carson	Forward
Paul Ysebaert	Forward
Garry Unger	Forward
Red Berenson	Forward
Dennis Polonich	Forward
Slava Koznov	Forward
Sergei Fedorov	Forward
Steve Yzerman	Forward
Chris Chelios	Defenseman
Mark Howe	Defenseman
Vladimir Konstantinov	Defenseman
Larry Murphy	Defenseman
Aaron Ward	Defenseman
Steve Duchesne	Defenseman
Jason Woolley	Defenseman
Mathieu Schneider	Defenseman
Jiri Fischer	Defenseman
Viacheslav Fetisov	Defenseman
Paul Coffey	Defenseman
Brian Rafalski	Defenseman
Mathieu Dandenault	Defenseman
Nicklas Lidstrom	Defenseman
Mike Vernon	Goalie
Eddie Mio	Goalie
Chris Osgood	Goalie
Manny Legace	Goalie

Toronto Maple Leafs

Name	Position
Darcy Tucker	Forward
Darryl Sittler	Forward
Kevin Maguire	Forward
Ron Ellis	Forward
Wendel Clark	Forward
Lanny McDonald	Forward
Frank Mahovlich	Forward
Steve Thomas	Forward
Gary Roberts	Forward
Tie Domi	Forward
Tiger Williams	Forward
Russ Courtnall	Forward
Rick Vaive	Forward
Gary Leeman	Forward
Dave Andreychuk	Forward
Mike Walton	Forward
Dave Ellett	Defenseman
Bryan McCabe	Defenseman
Al Iafrate	Defenseman
Bob McGill	Defenseman
Johnny Bower	Goalie
Mike Palmateer	Goalie

Preview

This matchup between NHL alumni may just be a fun exercise, but it should still be compelling to watch.

The Red Wings and Maple Leafs both have plenty of history, so there will be ample stars on display when these teams take the ice.

It all gets started with the coaches.

Detroit will be coached by former Red Wing head coaches Scott Bowman and Jacques Demers, former assistant coach Barry Smith and NHL legend Gordie Howe.

Over on the Toronto side of things, former head coaches Red Kelly and Pat Quinn will head the Maple Leafs team.

Each team itself will be made up of a blend of recently retired stars and greats that hung up their skates a long time ago.

For the Leafs, Johnny Bower and Michael Palmateer will be in net, a pair that first joined the league in 1958 and 1976, respectively.

But the team won’t entirely made up of older players; fairly recent Maple Leafs like Mats Sundin (1994-2008) and Bryan McCabe (2000-2008) also make up the roster.

Detroit brings a similar mix of the recent past and ancient history to the game.

Venerated keepers from the early 2000s and 1990s like Chris Osgood, Manny Legace and Mike Vernon will be in net alongside Eddie Mio, who last played for Detroit in 1986.

The Red Wings also got some of their legendary defensemen like Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom to return for the game, as well as prominent forwards like Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Kris Draper.

However, the Red Wings absolutely wanted one player above all the others: former captain Steve Yzerman.

Although he was initially reluctant, Yzerman ultimately agreed to participate, as Philly.com’s Matt Brigidi explains.

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However, the one remaining wrench was whether former captain Steve Yzerman would participate in the alumni game. With responsibilities as the Tampa Bay Lightning manager and as the primary architect of Hockey Canada's team for the Sochi Olympics, Yzerman has a lot on his plate.

While he originally stated that he wouldn't participate in the game, it seems the pestering of his former teammates and Ken Holland has broken down the barrier, as the Red Wings announced that Yzerman will play in the alumni game associated with the 2014 Winter Classic.

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Yzerman may have a lot on his plate, but he does still seem to be looking forward to taking time out to participate in the event.

"I just felt like it was appropriate to be there," Yzerman told The Tampa Bay Times. "Obviously not skating at all, you're a little apprehensive. But I wanted to be there for the event and around, so it seemed to make sense. I'd rather be there in uniform I guess than street clothes."

But now that he is part of it, Yzerman should help make an already interesting event even more captivating.

The game may be a pure scrimmage without the trappings of a real hockey match, but that won’t make it any less fun.

It’ll be a real treat to watch these legends of the game lace up one more time and should be a lasting tradition for the league.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said the alumni games would be played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. That is where the actual Winter Classic main event will be held on Wednesday, but the alumni games are actually to be played at Comerica Park. We regret the error.