Report: Maple Leafs the 'front-runner' to host 2017 Winter Classic

The Toronto Maple Leafs want to celebrate their 100th season with an outdoor game and the franchise is "the front-runner" to land the 2017 Jan. 1 Winter Classic, reports ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

No deal is in place, LeBrun cautions, due to a busy fall on the sporting calendar in Toronto. The city will host the World Cup of Hockey in September, the Toronto Blue Jays hope to play in October for a second straight year, and the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup game will be played in town, too. The World Junior Hockey Championship will also return to Toronto next December and January.

As a result, LeBrun reports Toronto may instead be awarded an outdoor game later in the season, as part of the NHL's Stadium Series. Either way, the game would likely be played at BMO Field downtown, home of Major League Soccer's Toronto FC.

The New York Rangers will likely be Toronto's opposition, LeBrun adds.

If Toronto is awarded a Stadium Series game, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will likely play in the 2017 Winter Classic, sources tell LeBrun. Whether the game would be played in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh isn't yet decided, but it would reportedly take place at the host city's football stadium.

Copyright (C) 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.