The NHL Gets it Right (for once)

So I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus recently because I moved into my new apartment in Burlington and have had my mind on other things. This one bit of news, however, broke me out of my slumber and I decided to get back to work.

There have been rumors ever since last January 1st that there would be another Winter Classic. First the big news was that the next outdoor game would be played at Yankee Stadium as the last ever sporting event to take place in the House That Ruth Built. I personally had a problem with this because it seems like sacrilege for a hockey game to be the last event in one of the most famous baseball parks on the planet. Some said it would be at Soldier Field in Chicago. Not a terrible idea in my opinion but the football stadium has been done and, while the last Winter Classic was a huge success, it seemed like the comparatively small rink was swimming in the big pond that is a football stadium which made for some less than desirable seats.

As of recently, the rumors of Wrigley Field as the next spot for an outdoor game seemed to intensify and with yesterday the announcement came that these rumors were indeed true. The Chicago Blackhawks will square off against the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Redwings on January 1st, 2009 at Wrigley Field. As the title of this post indicates, I think the NHL was dead on with this choice. That's not to say that I think the last Winter Classic was a failure or anything of that nature, quite the contrary. I do, however, think that, in the maze of blunders the NHL makes on a monthly basis, (cough* lack of transfer agreement *cough) this choice is a bright spot. They chose the previous season's Cup Champs and one of the most exciting teams to watch and pitted them against one of the NHL's up and coming teams loaded with young talent in the Blackhawks. This is a great way to show off the incredible skills of guys like Pat Kane, Jonathan Toews, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and give non-traditional viewers a chance to see what they have been missing. 

My only concern is that Gary Bettman is going to turn this into an annual event which I think would be a mistake. Yes it should be played this year to build on the success of last year. Now that everyone in the sporting world knows about it, they will be talking about it and it will be way more popular of a topic in the sporting media. However, do this every year and it loses all of its magic and spectacle, especially since the quality of the hockey was not that great overall last year. An outdoor game is something the NHL should consider doing every other year from here on out. Its an expensive endeavor for the league despite the incredible merchandising opportunity and, to be honest, its a little unfair to the teams who are not buried in snow starting in the middle of October. Its a shame because an outdoor game is a great way to build your hockey community and get people involved but, unless the NHL approves some sort of artificial ice surface, there is no way teams like the Panthers, Stars, Ducks or Hurricanes could ever host an outdoor game (on a side note, I wonder what the hardcore hockey traditionalists would say about that).

My vote goes to Toronto to host the 2011 Winter Classic against Montreal. Literally a century of hockey rivalry would be on display. They could hold it at BMO Field. What a sight that would be with the city of Toronto in the background. Hey, maybe by then the Leafs will actually get their act together. Think about it Gary...