The NHL’s Winter Classic has become a New Year’s Day sports staple over the previous four years. Edition No. 5 is set for Citizens Bank Park on Monday — a Jan. 2 date to avoid the final weekend of NFL play — between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. Capitals fans learned all about the event last year when thousands of area hockey fans traveled to Pittsburgh to watch Washington play the Penguins in the rain at Heinz Field. And the District is expected to host in the near future, according to NHL officials. But will the Winter Classic be reserved strictly for big-market or Eastern clubs only?
Apparently, yes. Philadelphia joins Pittsburgh, Chicago (Wrigley Field), Boston (Fenway Park) and Buffalo (Ralph Wilson Stadium) as hosts so far. The Penguins have played in two of these games. The Flyers are appearing in their second. The star-laden Caps and Red Wings also have participated. Only the small-market Sabres have been allowed in. And that was in large part because Buffalo was a proven hockey market and provided a reliable test case for the outdoor weather in January. You could argue the snow showers that passed through the city that afternoon helped make the event what it is.
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That begs the question: Is the Winter Classic sustainable — in ratings and crowd enthusiasm — if the same teams are constantly involved? Including Washington, the NHL still can take the game to Detroit, giving the Red Wings a second appearance, and Minneapolis, a hockey-crazed city that would turn out for the hometown Minnesota Wild. But are there enough other logical candidates?
No city has yet hosted twice. The league appears unwilling to involve any of its seven Canadian teams given the obvious ratings problems it would cause for network television partner NBC. New York is certainly in line to host multiple times with three area teams (Rangers, Devils, Islanders). If the Blues continue to improve, then St. Louis provides another logical Western Conference destination with appropriate weather. Colorado is another. Mix in the old reliable clubs and the league can probably squeeze another decade out of the Winter Classic without it becoming stale.
– Brian McNally
