The Caps to play the Pens in the 2011 Winter Classic

Really there are only so many cities where they can host them and really you don't want to start repeating teams. Also it looks like this may become a fixture for the next couple of years in Canada in February as it sounds like they are with Calgary and Montreal -- although I am surprised they are repeating with the Habs as they already had an outdoor game in Edmonton and assuming they will eventually get one in Montreal as well eventually that gives the Canadiens three games. I am hoping for a chinook to sweep through five minutes into the game in Calgary and leave them absolutely screwed by the time they are half way through the second period. Would this be part of Hockey Day in Canada? Vancouver is about the only team in Canada that wouldn't be able to host it, unless they can rig it some how in BC Place once they put the retracktable roof on but that may still be a little to impractable.

Minnesota should get one in a few years and I have to assume New York will as well, likely using Yankee Stadium as the venue. Denver could also host one. They could probably do one in Columbus but I don't think they are a big enough draw unless they suddenly become, you know, good. And if they are going to repeat Montreal up here they could probably go to Philly and repeat with the Flyers and maybe repeat with the Caps in Washington as well but there's not a lot of places after that, so hopefully this runs its course soon.

I am surprised they are talking Heinz Field as the league in the past made it pretty clear they want access to the field two weeks prior to the date so they can set up properly and make whatever adjustments to the climate for the ice that they need. That would mean booting the Stillers out of their home for two weeks in the middle of their season, I cannot believe the NFL would be two thrilled about this. Happy Valley would almost be a better option and they can go for another attendance record.

 

This.

The game is set up for the casual viewer, it is not a great "hockey" game, it's an event. The league would be silly not to promote it's biggest stars for this event.

 

Yawn ... another year of Ovechkin and Crosby story lines. It's getting worse than the way baseball spoon-feeds fans nothing but the Red Sox and Yankees. Why not superchill the ice and try a game at Spartan Stadium, Stanford or Candlestick Park? Oh yeah, that would be encouraging attendance in the Sun Belt states, we can't have that, can we?

 

Makes sense that the Canadiens are a repeat, though, doesn't it? I mean, if they're the Yankees of the NHL, who just happen to coming off a remarkable run through the playoffs after beating the Caps and Pens, that eastern Canadian team ought to generate far more buzz than the Senators (first-round exit) or Maple Leafs (no playoffs, again). I'm guessing the other four teams will get their shot the next two years.

Yankee Stadium is out until 2014, I believe, because there's going to be a bowl game played there between Christmas and New Year's, starting this season. So that's out.

Heinz Field made too much sense. For one, it gets away from the historic baseball stadium and will be featured at a place where NBC routinely visits to broadcast the Steelers, who have owned that city for years -- like the Cubs have Chicago and the Red Sox have Boston. And because they can sell 70,000-some tickets, they could double their profit at the game from tiny venues past two years.

Also, the Steelers' last home game will be on Thursday, Dec. 23. Supposedly, that will give the NHL more than enough time to set up the rink -- I saw somewhere where they needed one week. The NFL can't be too ticked about it, since it accommodated the Steelers' wishes to play host to the game by giving them the Thursday night game necessary to make it work. NBC even has the Steelers and Ravens on Sunday night football on Dec. 5, so it can start hyping the game during a game that features both fan bases.

Re: Happy Valley, great for attendance, bad for logistics. Penn State's capacity is 107,282, which would look great on the books, but maybe 40,000 or more of those fans are students who call State College home, and that's not to mention locals and fans from surrounding areas who might drive to the game and back. No hotels necessary. With the Penguins, Flyers or whoever else might play at Happy Valley, there wouldn't be near enough hotel rooms for fans who wanted to make the trip -- and potentially got stranded because of inclement weather. And supposedly, JoePa wants no part of a hockey game being played on campus so long as he's there. Supposedly. He's a football-only guy.

 

I've always thought football stadiums were better suited -- the sight lines for baseball stadiums are absolute shit, but in cases like Wrigley and Fenway it was so much more about the aura of the setting -- something they could pull off at Yankee Stadium. However if they are dead set on a New York game -- which they should be for the outdoor game -- and having a stadium (I think Central Park would actually be very cool) they could use Citi FIeld out of neccesity due to little to no chance of getting in at the new football staium (double the scheduling trouble with two NFL teams). It was after the Buffalo game where they set up in a week to 10 days -- I can't quite remember -- they came out with the two week setup, which they started in Chicago. In Boston last year they have them setting up on Dec. 14.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/gallerylanding.htm?id=11170

The extra time gave them the ability to at least attempt to get the ice up to a passable level -- with the outdoor games it will never be very good but there is a minimum standard -- but hey the NHL is already selling itself out, they might as well throw ice conditions out the window as well.
So unless they developled a quicker system the schedule is an issue.
I wasn't sure on the logistics for Happy Valley but I can understand the issues they face there and why it wouldn't work.

 

No problem with the teams playing next year.

Minnesota does not deserve consideration.

 

Do NBA fans complain that the Lakers are always playing on Christmas Day?

 

At the Gophers' new football stadium or Target Field.

 

There's a stipulation in the PNC contract that two winning professional teams are not allowed to compete inside the stadium against teach other until 2021.

 

I know they've done an exhibition game there somewhat recently, but I would be curious to see a game on The Strip in Vegas with the Sharks and another prominent Western Conference team.

 

This gimmick is wearing a little thin.

If they want to dredge up all this faux nostaliga, here's what you do.

Players throw their sticks in a pile at centre ice. Someone divies them up randomly. There's one team with black jerseys and one team with white. No logos, no numbers.

First team to ten wins the game. Best three out of five.

No lights. If it gets dark, park two cars at either end of the rink with their headlights on.

No faceoffs after goals. No refs. Self policing on offsides (other team gets the puck). Fights are allowed

At 6:00 Sid's mom gets on the PA system and yells, "Time for supper, Sid" at which point, if the game is tied, next goal wins.