No End In Sight For Outdoor NHL Games

It's no secret that outdoor hockey games have become all the rage in recent years for the NHL.  Whenever I see one on TV, I usually have to stop whatever it is I'm doing to watch it.

Its been six years since the first Winter Classic was played in Buffalo and the novelty hasn't worn off yet!  In 2014 outdoor games even expanded to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in the Stadium Series.  

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

Mr. Konerko under CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The last Stadium Series game played at Soldier Field was very fun because it was played in adverse weather conditions, which is the way it should be when a sporting event is held outside in the elements during Winter. Even this year's Winter Classic in Ann Arbor was played under very snowy weather conditions.  The adverse weather conditions don't seem to bother the fans judging by the huge sellout at each of the venues.  
  
Let's not forget the third edition of the NHL Heritage Classic in Vancouver that took place on Sunday.  The only problem I had with this year's Heritage Classic was that it was played inside a dome with the roof closed because it was snowing.  If I was in charge, I would have left the roof open no matter what!  This is hockey for crying out loud where players pound each other into the boards and sometimes manage to lose teeth along the way!  Other than that, I would keep the Heritage Classic the way it is with only teams from Canada playing in the game because that's the way it should be.  Its called the Heritage classic to commemorate and celebrate the sport's heritage and what better way to do that than to play the game in the country where the sport was invented.

Looking ahead to next year, it will be interesting to see where the outdoor games go from here because as far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier and sky's the limit.  Will there be less outdoor games in order to accommodate an All Star game next year?  Let's hope that's not the case.   In the meantime, here's to seeing the Washington Capitals have their crack at the Winter Classic in 2015 and the future growth of the Stadium Series.  

Tim Musick

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