A photo of the first annual NHL Winter Classic game, played between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins in Buffalo, New York at Ralph Wilson Stadium
As many of you have already heard, the 2013 NHL Winter Classic will be played between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings at the University of Michigan football stadium in a game that will undoubtedly shatter NHL attendance records. While the Winter Classic games continue to provide a great deal of entertainment to hockey fans everywhere, it's impossible not to notice the repetitiveness and popularity of the teams being chosen to participate.
As a Flyers fan, the day I found out that the Philadelphia Flyers would play the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Winter Classic, I was inexplicably excited. My favorite team was going to be showcased in the third year of an increasingly popular annual NHL tradition. After hearing the news, I went out and bought a Flyers Winter Classic jersey along with some t-shirts and a hat specifically made for the game. I was feeding into the hype but I didn't care. At the time I thought this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience, watching my team play an outdoor hockey game against a bitter rival. Well maybe not once in a lifetime, but definitely not something that would become a regular occurance. This past January, the Flyers played in the Winter Classic against the New York Rangers, another hated rival, this time in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I was unable to get as excited for this game as I had been for the one in 2010. It wasn't new and exciting anymore. It was the 2nd time in three years that they were playing in this game and it had effectively lost most of the excitement surrounding it.
The 2013 Winter Classic will mark the 2nd time that the Detroit Red Wings have been chosen to play in the outdoor spectacle, joining the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins who have each also played in two. The Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers have each been invited to play once. All of these teams mentioned are big market teams with large fan bases. I will admit that, in terms of business, it's understandable that the NHL would want the biggest regular season game to be played between teams that consistently sell out their respective arenas. However, there are plenty of other big market teams that should have been given a chance to play in the Winter Classic before the Flyers, Penguins and Red Wings got to play in two. The Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues were all in the top 10 in attendance last season and yet the NHL chooses to feature Detroit in another Winter Classic. Then there are teams like the the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, who are two of the most well known teams in the NHL and would without question draw a large attendance and respectable ratings. The Minnesota Wild consistently have a solid fan base as well and a state that loves hockey as much as Minnesota would make an incredible host for this event.
Basically, the point is that the NHL needs to change the way they handle the Winter Classic game if they want fans to continue to be excited for it. Nobody wants to see the same teams over and over again. It seems the NHL wants to only feature big market teams in these games, but what better way to increase exposure for less popular teams than to have them play in the most popular game of the regular season?
I agree. It seems like the the same few teams have been playing at the Classic each year. And it really doesn't seem like the NHL is doing a lot to change that. Not really surprised by the picks again this year. While it is great to have a Canadian team playing it would be nice if they could expand and play a team that hasn't already participated.
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