With the Penguins and the Flyers playing in the upcoming NHL Coors Light Stadium Series, I thought I would dive into the history of the NHL’s promotional use of outdoor regular-season games. Since 2008, the NHL has held annual outdoor match-ups between both heated rivals and teams that have no history between them for what they call “honoring the tradition of where hockey began,” but honestly it was a marketing idea that took off and they’ve run with the cash cow.
For the true origins of outdoor NHL hockey, we have to go back to 1991. Between? You guessed the New York Rangers and the LA Kings, of course! Where? Well, obviously it was held in one of the warmest places in the US, Las Vegas, Nevada. For the first time in its history, the NHL held a preseason exhibition game in the parking lot of Caesars Palace. 13,700 temporary seats were erected with a full regulation rink inside them, in 95˚ weather, but somehow the ice was actually kept in very good condition due to an extreme amount of refrigeration equipment. The Kings went on to win 5-2, lead by the Great One Wayne Gretzky.
Fast-forward 12 years to 2003, the first regular-season outdoor game was held in Edmonton between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens (yes it’s spelled with an “e”). The game would be titled The Heritage Classic. Montreal won the 4-3, while both teams survived through temperatures as low as -22˚. This game marked the point where the NHL knew that not only could games that actually meant something could be played, but also that there was a huge fan interest as over 57,000 fans were in attendance. The match was held in Edmonton’s Canadian Football League team’s stadium and was a full sell-out.
Beginning in 2008 the NHL announced that the Pittsburgh, with rising NHL superstar Sidney Crosby, and the Ryan Miller lead Buffalo Sabres would play at Ralph Wilson Stadium (now known as New Era Field) in Buffalo. This would be the first use of the name Winter Classic and also the announcement that an outdoor regular season game would be held annually in the NHL from that year forward. In an exciting back and forth battle, the Penguins went on to beat the Sabres in a shootout, with the game-winning goal scored by Crosby.
To keep me from rambling on, I’m going to list the results of the subsequent Winter Classic games and will note interesting facts (in any) for each game leading to 2014 where I will go into a little detail again.
2009 – Chicago Blackhawks v. Detroit Redwings. Final 6-4 Detroit
- First NHL game held in a baseball Stadium (Wrigley Field)
2010 – Philadelphia Flyers v. Boston Bruins. Final 2-1 OT Bruins
2011 – Pittsburgh Penguins v. Washington Capitals. Final 3-1 Capitals
- Pittsburgh would be the first team with a second outdoor appearance
2012 – Philadelphia Flyers v. New York Rangers. Final 3-2 Rangers
In 2013 the NHL was in Lockout for over half the season, leaving a shortened 48-game schedule. The NHL canceled its All-Star game and the Winter Classic. But returning in 2014, to attract lost fans to the sport again, the NHL announced that from that year on, multiple outdoor games would be held. Labeling this new idea as The Coors Light Stadium Series, where there would be 3 or more outdoor games in addition to the Winter Classic; the Penguins have played in 2 of these games so far and play in a third this year. The Flyers have played in 1 of these games so far with their second this year.
These heated rivals take the ice in Philadelphia on February 23rd at Lincoln Financial Field. This will be the second time these teams have met outdoors with the first being last year where the Penguins won, 4-1. Being at the game myself and nearly dying from how cold it was, I had a blast. So if you’re bored that day was want to see a sport not normally played outside being played outside, give it a watch!
Weird flex, but here I am at the game touching the Stanley Cup
Sorry for the long post. I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole and could have written about 1000 more words if I really wanted to.
Check out this Wikipedia page for a complete history of NHL outdoor games.
I admire your passion for this subject! I had no idea about the outdoor games, they seem more authentic and entertaining. I would be deterred if the weather was crappy, I like how indoor hockey games are always comfortable
Yeah, I didn’t know that outdoor hockey games existed! I always figured that the unpredictability of the weather would create a poor environment for ice hockey, what with warmth melting the ice or any inclement weather spoiling the event. I understand the appeal of outdoor stadiums, what with the sun shining in and the fresh air, but I always figured that indoor stadiums were more comfortable climates- like the Giant Center, for instance. To conclude, I gotta say that I respect the flex.