Will the NHL Stadium Series Cheapen the Winter Classic?

Since its introduction in 2008, the Winter Classic has been one of the premier events of the NHL season.  It has been known to draw interest from all different fan bases, not just fans of the two teams competing.    Before this year, the only other outdoor NHL games were the 2003 and 2011 Heritage Classic games, which are basically the Canadian version of the Winter Classic. (This year's Heritage Classic will feature the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators)

Seeing the huge success the Winter Classic game has become, the NHL set out to capitalize on the popularity of outdoor hockey and thus, the NHL Stadium Series was born.

Premiering this year, the NHL Stadium Series will feature four outdoor games starting at the end of January.  The games are as follows:

January 25th, Anaheim Ducks vs. LA Kings at Dodger Stadium
January 26th, New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium
January 29th, New York Islanders vs. New York rangers at Yankee Stadium
March 1st, Pittsburg Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field

While its hard to argue that the playing an NHL game on an ice rink in the middle of a football or baseball field is a cool idea, at what point does having multiple outdoor games a year become too much of a good thing?

The biggest draw of the Winter Classic, and the reason it garners such widespread interest, is the fact that it has been the one and only outdoor game of the season.  With only one game, the NHL was able to pick a great matchup to feature.  The novelty of the event was what made it special.  The Winter Classic has now become one of five outdoor games.

Is it just me, or does having four other outdoor games cheapen the Winter Classic a bit?  Sure, the Classic’s matchup of the Redwings v. Leafs is arguably the best of all the outdoor games this year.  And yeah, it has New Year’s Day going for it too, but still, it’s now one of five.

It’s cool multiple fan bases now have the opportunity to experience their team play an outdoor game,  I just think it makes the honor of hosting or playing in the Winter Classic a little less special.

As far as the matchups to be featured in the Stadium Series go, Penguins vs. Blackhawks and Ducks vs. Kings should both be good games based on the fact that all four teams are among the leagues best; there’s just not much history behind either of those matchups.

On the other hand, I’m unimpressed with the two matchups that will be played at Yankee Stadium. Aside from the fact that it seems like a waste to have the Rangers play in half of the Stadium Series games, the matchups are underwhelming to say the least.  Between games against the Devils and Islanders, I can’t decide which I’m less interested in.

The NHL will undoubtedly make tons of money from these additional outdoor games.  All the games will sell out and fans will pack the stands, excited for the unique experience of witnessing their team play on a rink standing in the middle of an open-air stadium.  But what happens when this uniqueness fades?  What happens when the novelty of an outdoor hockey game wears off?  What if the outdoor hockey game becomes commonplace rather than an exciting, once a year event?

I guess we’ll see.

HBO's 24/7 Will Be Quality Entertainment

The first episode of the HBO series 24/7 airs tonight (12/14) at 10pm ET.

24/7 Road to the NHL Winter Classic goes behind the scenes and into the locker rooms of the two teams set to play in this year’s NHL Winter Classic game.  The Winter Classic, for those who are unfamiliar, is an annual event held by the NHL, which started in 2008 and is played outdoors, providing the game a completely different dynamic.

This year’s game will be played on New Year’s Day between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings at University of Michigan’s “The Big House” football stadium.

The Red Wings vs. the Maple Leafs is an Original Six rivalry that has been renewed by this year’s NHL realignment, which placed these two teams in the same division.  With the combination of the rivalry and the battle for points in the Atlantic division, this should be a hard-fought and entertaining contest.

However, you don’t have to be a hockey player or even a fan of either team to enjoy the 24/7 series. The show follows the teams through the weeks leading up to the Winter Classic.  The viewer gets an inside look at both teams, as cameras catch everything from the personal lives of individual players to speeches made by the coaches in the locker room.

It’s really interesting to get a look at things like the players pre-game routines and to see what it’s like to be a professional hockey player outside of the games themselves.  You’ll get to see how they travel, where they live and what the life of an NHL player consists of.

Hockey players are often said to be some of the most personable and likable athletes in professional sports, so 24/7 is always good for some laughs.

There’s no question that the best moments of last years 24/7 featuring the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers came from the Flyers goalie at the time, Ilya Bryzgalov.





So if you have HBO yourself or can find somewhere to watch it, I highly recommend 24/7 Red Wings/Maple Leafs: Road to the NHL Winter Classic which is set to air on Saturday nights at 10 pm on HBO.

NHL, NHLPA Scheduled to Talk Tuesday, Does Anyone Care?

The Winter Classic has been cancelled, and the NHL has reportedly cost themselves $70 million in the process.  At what point does there stubbornness just get completely out of control?

Wait, what?  Oh, that's already happened?  A month and a half ago?  Sounds about right.

Any hopes of a season are fading by the hour.  The NHL and Players Association have scheduled talks for Tuesday afternoon, but does that even matter anymore?  Here's how the deputy commissioner Bill Daly described the last set of talks over the weekend after two weeks of silence.

"We had a series of meetings and exchanged views on the most important issues separating us.  We plan to meet again sometime early this week."

Brilliant!  Looks like the season should start any second!  This next bit is from commissioner Gary Bettman from those discussions two weeks ago.

"But, as you see, despite what we did on [Oct. 16], we were done in an hour today because there was really nothing there."

And what happened on October 16th?  The NHL made an offer to split revenue at 50-50, but then NHLPA director Donald Fehr made the executive decision that it would cost players too much, but then proposed three different counter-proposals.  Good move.  No, just kidding, Bettman shot all three down.  So the "nothing there" line was because the NHLPA was not willing to work with only the commissioner's plan.  Absolute joke.

This may be one of my last NHL pieces because of how obnoxious this whole fiasco is.  Look, most fans don't care anymore, and barely care enough to read the news about it anymore.  Shutting down the Winter Classic was the final straw, and as to how this season or these fan bases can be rebuilt, well, that's a lot more than just one blog can handle.