We've sort of known this was going to happen since early April, but the news Nashville will serve as the host city for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game will reportedly be officially announced Friday.
The league has scheduled a press conference featuring Gary Bettman and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean for Friday at 11 a.m. ET at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
As a result of 2013 lockout and the 2014 Winter Olympics, the NHL hasn't hosted an All-Star Game since 2012, when the Senators hosted the event at Scotiabank Place in Kanata, Ont.
The 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville will be the 61st such star-laden exhibition, with the 60th to be played in 2015 in Columbus, Ohio.
It'll be interesting to see where the All-Star game lands thereafter, although it's expected that the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the game (and the Winter Classic) as a celebration of the franchise's 100th birthday in 2017:
In a recent press conference NHL commissioner Bettman told hockey fans in Glendale, Ariz., that the league would play an All-Star game in Deer Valley in the near future.
"I don't have a date, but we owe you a game," Bettman said.