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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Like Pam Anderson or Trivial Pursuit, the NHL’s outdoor game was created in Canada and flourished in America.
The Winter Classic has become a wildly successful enterprise with sold out games in Buffalo and Chicago and killer TV ratings. This year’s game between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park will be no different.
Now it looks like the now-annual outdoor game will be making a return to its home north of the border.
A second Winter Classic for next season, featuring two Canadian teams, is something the NHL is looking at, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said today as the league’s two-day board of governors meetings wrapped up.
“That’s something that timing-wise we couldn’t make happen (for this season), but it’s something we’re going to look at again for next year,” said Bettman.
The first NHL outdoor game was played in 2003 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. Despite bone-chilling cold, it was a huge success.
Calgary’s McMahon Stadium was targeted as a possible venue last year and would seem to be the frontrunner again, though there were some logistical questions last year. Other possible sites would be Molson Stadium in Montreal and BMO Field in Toronto. Neither Ottawa (no facility) nor Vancouver (weather concerns) would seem to be in the mix.
The advantage Calgary has is the size of the facility, though that might not be an overwhelming edge.
Molson Stadium and BMO Field could likely accommodate about 25,000 fans. A crowd of 46,020 watched the Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium last month.
Bettman said every Canadian team has expressed interest in being involved in an outdoor game.
The logistics are being discussed. If it was to be a New Year’s Day doubleheader, for example, the NHL would have to look into buying or renting a second rink.
“There’s been a lot of speculation and again, none of this has been resolved. But I’m just laying it out,” said Bettman. “Do you do two games on New Year’s Day, do you do one on New Year’s Day and one on (CBC’s) Hockey Day In Canada? Do you do one on one day and one on the other; so whether or not we can use the same rink twice will depend on when we’re doing this.”
A decision (where, when and which teams) on the outdoor game in Canada will have to be made by May 1. The NHL is discussing having the schedule come out before the draft next year, about two weeks earlier than usual.
The big topic going into these meetings was the Phoenix Coyotes and the NHL’s letter of intent to sell them to Ice Edge Holdings, a group of a half-dozen investors who intend to keep the team in Phoenix. Foremost on the minds of the governors was whether or not they would be on the hook for any cash when the books were closed on the process, which saw the league buy the bankrupt team for $140 million, about the same price Ice Edge is going to pay.
“I think the commissioner has got this well in hand,” said Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. “I don’t think there’s any money going out from the Bruins or anybody else. Talking as a Bruin, that’s the only interest we have in it, that we’re not giving up any funds for it. We’re happy with the way it’s being handled.”
As part of the Ice Edge deal, playing five Coyotes home games in Saskatoon will be discussed, but has not been well-received by the governors.
“Whether or not that will ever come to pass is very highly speculative,” said Calgary Flames president Ken King. “Based on what we heard, it is not something that I think is likely to happen.”
chris.stevenson@sunmedia.ca