DALLAS, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Hockey bastion Montreal will be the site of the 2009 National Hockey League All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the event would be part of the Canadiens' centennial and "what will be a yearlong celebration."
The announcement came as the NHL took a break for the All-Star Game to be played Wednesday in Dallas. Atlanta will host next year's mid-season contest.
Bettman also told the assembled hockey writers that he hoped the standoff in Pittsburgh over a new arena would end and that the Penguins would stay in Steel City.
The NHL also will stick with its current balanced scheduling system, which leans toward games among division opponents with teams from opposite coasts playing only once.
