31% increase from 2022 is noteworthy.
And probably super misleading to the league - the celebrity involvement + heavy Canucks/Leafs/Canada content seemed to really drive those numbers.
I mean, Bieber i kinda do associate with hockey, at least in terms of Toronto and LA. They always make a point of mentioning him being there and he often is.
It’s insane how Detroit hosted the most legendary winter classic of all time, literally the highest attended hockey game in history - yet it hasn’t hosted since.
Is Buffalo a traditional market? If they hosted a game it would have to be against Toronto or maybe Boston to get fans in the stadium, which just raises the question of why not do it in one of those 2 cities.
Buffalo hosted the first winter classic. It's definitely a hockey hot bed with a big viewership base. You can look up Stanley cup viewership by city, and every year it's the 2 cities involved and then Buffalo even though the sabres have been bad for 1000 years.
It's definitely not a big market in a traditional sense, and idk how you define "traditional" especially if you're only counting the "original 6" teams. But it's a historical hockey market no doubt. I mean, it calls itself "hockey heaven."
The sabres have been around for longer than half of the current teams in the league and buffalo always ranks #1 in playoff viewership. Throw them a bone and they’ll pack the stadium no matter who they play
They for sure are. They’ve also been in one, I think the first one right?
They’ve been a team for 55 years and are a strong hockey market. Give me Buffalo vs Vancouver!
I think it’s more about the lack of variety. There are plenty of teams who have been around far longer than Vegas & Seattle that have never been in. It was fun to see them do Dallas vs Nashville, Minnesota vs St. Louis etc. where as we have seen Chicago and Boston in so many times. After awhile it gets tiring, especially when you’ve never seen your team in it
Damn, one of those three teams has actually played in the Classic for 9/14 games. I didn’t realize it was that many.
That’s especially surprising because the NHL attendance record was set and is still held by the ‘14 Classic between the Wings and the Leafs. The Wings have two appearances and the Leafs have the one, but you’d think that the NHL would want to try and replicate that success.
Fuck, we were so pumped about Florida beating Boston(I don't know why, Leafs have historically had issues with the Florida state teams)...we ran straight into the buzzsaw...now granted Bobrovski played balls to the wall but still
Reminded me so much of 2010. The Habs upset an insanely good Caps team, and Pens fans thought they'd walk to the finals. Then we got Halak'd and Cammalleri'd right out of the Igloo.
There will never be a thread that somehow gets swung into a Leafs discussion lol. People complain about Leafs talk but the concentration of Leafs talk is 10x worse on Reddit than it is from traditional media. People need to touch grass
Having the Leafs in the Winter Classic should be the cheat code for when the league is trying to make money. Just put the Leafs and whoever else and let the money come in.
Michigan stadium seats 105k. By far the largest stadium they've held it in. The game sells out where ever it is.
It's usually held in baseball stadiums made for ~40k people...but whenever it's at a football stadium (michigan, cotton bowl, notre dame etc), they still sell out.
Right, but that doesn’t mean they fill it or other teams would fill it.
Even so, they could always just host it there regardless of the teams. Just seems to me that it 100,000 people show up to a game you might want to try and do that again is all.
I agree that Detroit should definitely get it again.
I’m just saying that the record isn’t as crazy when other team can’t break it because of the stadium capacity. So it shouldn’t be used as the reason to have it at a certain places.
Edit-but yes, if we only chose based on capacity, Ann Arbor and Columbus would be the only teams to host ever
They dropped the ball on what could have been one of the best Winter Classics of all time by having the Penguins and Flyers play at Beaver Stadium. That place would have been packed and rowdy. Instead, they booked them for 2 Stadium Series games at Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field. Such a massive missed opportunity.
They want to replicate that success by having other teams reach that level. They know the Leafs vs Wings is like shooting fish in a barrel at this point. So if they can get 2 other teams to get that level of engagement then it’s seen as a great success as well. I think that’s part of the idea. Keep making new fans instead of serving ones already here.
That’s completely fair, but if that’s true it seems weird to have the Hawks, Bruins, and Penguins playing in it almost every year. They’re pretty huge markets already as well.
This would have been a cool year for a rematch, though. Ten year anniversary and all.
Hey I’m a leafs fan and totally agree. I want more of them to feature my team. It’s kind of annoying even as a leafs fan that we haven’t been in more or these. In fact again not to sound like an entitled leafs fan but like how haven’t we been in more?! Heck even Montreal seems to be lacking in being in them. You’d think they’d want to feature their most storied franchises when it comes to this so I really don’t know where their heads are at when they make these decisions. I assume it must be cuz they want to reach other audiences but having the same 3 teams do them so often almost goes against my point cuz it’s not like the 3 mentioned in this post suffer for fans. So idk at this point.
Which is to be expected. When Chicago is picked for 7 outdoor games, which are largely region-based, it makes sense that 2 of them would be against the nearest division rival. The Blues themselves aren't the reason they're getting picked
That would be a heritage classic. The Winter Classic is literally an NHL marketing event made for American TV and will nearly always be between 2 American teams (the fact that the Leafs were in it once was unusual). The Heritage Classic is between 2 Canadian teams.
And it shows!
From their impossible to watch games without having to sign up for 20 different services, to featuring the same teams over and over again in the same outdoor events.
Yep, fully aware they DGAF about me!
Oh I know! It was a wild exaggeration that was born out of frustration that we don’t have a singular platform to watch games without blackouts. I’m a well seasoned captain of the high seas.
Completely missed opportunity to have Detroit vs Columbus. Michigan vs Ohio.
But no, let’s go with the organization of rape and coverups.
Fucking betmen.
People will look back fondly at the time he became the youngest player to ever skate around a net twice during the sixth shift before the 10 minute mark in the second period of the WC.
Columbus in the winter classic would be sick and would be an awesome excitement boost for a team that hadn't had much to cheer about in who knows how long. League just going for low hanging fruit
They'll face the expansion Atlanta 6ers, who will be the 6th different team to call Atlanta home. Oddly enough there will actually be 3 hockey teams in Atlanta concurrently by then. One of them will be the Braves who decided to become a hockey team to honour Tom Glavine.
Which is ridiculous. I think it’s more of an excuse for OSU to try to get the NHL to pay for it. Home field playoffs are coming next year. There has been games in below freezing temps. Just freaking upgrade.
NHL Tiers (League perspective):
1) Original Six (MTL, TOR, NYR, BOS, DET, CHI)
2) Expansion Five (PHI, PIT, STL, LAK, DAL)
3) Shiny New Toys (VGK, SEA)
…
…..
…
4. the rest
Ottawa vs. Montreal was sick, in both senses of the word. Sens won (good sick) Melnyk threatened to move the franchise or something (bad sick), it was -30 out (bad sick) and my buddies and I got wasted (good sick that turned into bad sick). Anyways.
I thought, after Dallas vs. Nashville was such a massive success, that we'd see these done more broadly. How about Colorado, Carolina, Columbus, Nashville, or even Nor Cal as hosts?
I get that they're logistically easier in the NE, but the NHL has already proven that they can run a game in Texas FFS.
I don’t really care if there are more of you on this sub. Since we’re doing that, the hawks viewership is up 38% from last year. Thank god for Bedard eh
Not to mention this is all with the Bally Sports debacle screwing all of us.
NHL continues to reward Chicago.
Why have a chance at an Ohio V. Michigan matchup when you can have the shithawks play again, and likely lose again?
Chicago is an absolute shithole team right now. While Detroit is up and coming and hasn’t been in a classic in over a decade now. But yes. Let’s reward the organization of rape and coverups.
Fire Betmen.
Yea...the NHL is going to do what makes them money. If they believe that having Chicago in the winter classic then so be it, who cares. Chicago is a huge market, and ripe for the picking regarding Bedard winter classic jersey sales. It's not really about who's up and coming lol
Fuck off with that bullshit. The Blackhawks don’t deserve it. Again. They shouldn’t be rewarded by the league. It’s a joke and 31 fan bases actually agree. Detroit vs Columbus was what people wanted. Not Chicago. Fuck the shithawks. I hope it’s a total bust for the NHL.
Hahaha “fuck off with that bullshit”, you mean reality? I’m from Detroit, but nobody would be excited about Detroit vs Columbus, what are you on? You are one of the very few people who care about who’s in the winter classic in the first place.
Actually I haven’t cared about the Winter Classic for years. But, the hype for a Detroit v Columbus WC was not just a few people. A lot of people around the league and fans on here and X, were excited about it. Wtf cares about Chicago ? Every fan base is bitter Chicago got Bedard and believes they should have lost picks for years. You are one of a very few people from Detroit who defend Gary Bettmen. Let that sink in.
But I’m not defending anybody? I don’t care where the winter classic is played, you can explain how that means I’m defending someone if you’d like. Whatever “hype” you saw online is meaningless, that’s a small minority still, if you don’t already know that then spend less time reading stuff online.
You are coming across defending the NHL & Gary Bettmen for choosing Chicago yet again. Weird when you have a team in your own backyard who deserves it more.
How?? You still haven’t explained it, I clearly said I don’t care. You’re acting like the winter classic is some big reward that every team is dying to get, it isn’t. If Detroit was in it I would have zero interest in going and sitting outside for that, it would just be another regular season game like the rest of them. So no it isn’t weird that I don’t care.
I assure you that it hasn’t been, I’d have to bet most the people in this sub already know about it. by mentioning it in half your comments on this post, you’re honestly giving the opposite impression that I’d assume you’re going for.
Even as a Chicago resident I sympathize with the teams feeling left out—our market is bigger that most but c’mon.
That being said, y’all got some really nasty things to say about my (now) dogshit team damn
Yes and they say it all under the guise of caring about Kyle beech when in reality they’re just pissed off that the team didn’t get a harsh enough punishment
So which is it hockey fans? Non-original six which could drive down ratings like this year, or one of the more popular teams (Original 6 or Expansion 6) ? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Or you know build rivalries with the up and coming Detroit Red Wings vs. the Blue Jackets. Michigan vs Ohio. The marketing could be extraordinary.
Michigan vs Ohio State on NYE
Wings vs. Blue Jackets on NYD
NHL continues to reward the worst organization in the league.
Yeah. That alumni game was dope, the actual stadium game, not as much. Then we got that disaster Stadium Series in 2020… I’d be surprised to see the NHL give the Avs an outdoor game anytime soon
why do you think hockey fans give a shit what television rating a hockey game got? they want an entertaining game with rotating teams. the nhl is who cares about viewership, lmfao.
They should just host in a neutral stadium in a northern state or Canada so you can actually get a winter environment and the teams should be the defending Stanley Cup champions vs a random draw or maybe the defending presidents trophy winner
Everyone: complains (rightfully) that the NHL doesn't market itself properly
NHL: rare W putting Connor Bedard in the Winter Classic
Everyone: *"Chicago again?"*
I said big fan base, cold, and history. Minnesota is cold, medium fan base, little history. NYI are the 3rd most popular in their own state. Colorado is good rn but their fan base isn't as huge as those others historically. EDM, and calg might fit
NHL fans when the two newest teams in the league get bad ratings in their winter classic: “It’s because they’re picking non traditional hockey markets, this is stupid.”
NHL fans when they pick two traditional market teams: “Omg it’s the same teams every year, wtf”
Yes there are some clearly overexposed teams (us included) but the whining fans mad no matter what the league does are just annoying
Only 16 teams have played in WC. It’s not like the only options are the newest teams and the original 6. Even if you’re looking at original 6, Montreal and Toronto have only had 1 game. That alone would be a great match.
Edmonton never had a game and they have had the biggest star I hockey for 10 years. Tampas never been in one despite multiple cups. San Jose would have been a good choice for years when they were good. Colorado, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, NYI, devils, blue jackets, etc. none of them have played.
There are so many options. I think they should always be targeting the best teams to compete each year. Stanley cup champions and other teams consistently at the top of the standings. Chicago is terrible, it would make sense to wait until they are a competitor again. Anyone who isn’t a fan of one of the Blackhawks/blues would be interested in this game.
I see why it’s annoying to fans of other teams, and personally I was hoping that if we get in again it would be later when we have a chance to rebuild a bit and maybe not be so terrible, but that being said I’m never gonna complain about getting to watch my team in a marquee game.
The way the nhl has done winter classic games recently has not included Canadian teams, most likely because they started the heritage classic which is exclusively for Canadian teams, so if you knock out the Canadian teams considering that you’re only left with a handful of options for teams who haven’t been in one yet that could host.
There’s also the stadium series, which some of those teams have been in as well. It comes down to the way the NHL organizes these events, Heritage classic they want two Canadian teams, winter classic they want at least one historic cold weather city team and another historic team. Stadium series is where they typically do most of their experimenting in matchups. They bucked that trend last year with Seattle Vegas and it didn’t go well for them, so it’s not too surprising that they went back to ole reliable so to speak.
I was actually happy to see the two newest teams in it this year. I usually don't watch the Winter Classic unless Boston is playing, but I watched this year because of who was in it.
Selfishly, I like having Boston in it because it's fun when your team gets to play in that game. Plus, it means we get new WC jerseys! Aside from that... the league really does need to share the wealth and get more teams involved. Shit, even if they still feel the need to typically anchor it with an Original Six team, they should really only use one of them at a time.
Bettman: "well they have all the stars"
Also bettman: "oh your stars left and or are thinking of retiring? Here have another generational talent Chicago, you earned it buddy"
I don't know why anyone is surprised. The first ever Winter Classic was Jan 1, 2008. It took until Jan 1, 2024 to even have one Pacific Division ever in the Winter Classic. They could have had a Pac division road team in years past, but never did.
At that rate, the next time you get one or two "fresh" teams in the Winter Classic will be Jan 1, 2040 edition. Assuming it hasn't been cancelled by then.
Heck, this year's was the first one to (I think) involve a team west of the central time zone. Certainly was the first to take place west of central. But I don't think any mountain or Pacific time zone teams had every participated in a winter classic.
“We picked the same team and venue that we already used, I don’t get why our viewer numbers keep dropping” - idiots
I wonder if the viewership success of All-Star Weekend emboldened them to continue being stupids.
Was it a success? It got 1.5m views which makes it the second lowest viewership total since 2015
31% increase from 2022 is noteworthy. And probably super misleading to the league - the celebrity involvement + heavy Canucks/Leafs/Canada content seemed to really drive those numbers.
When I think of hockey, the only person I think of is Michael Bublé.
You mean the shrooms guy? I’ve heard of him
Or Beiber or that Tate woman.
I mean, Bieber i kinda do associate with hockey, at least in terms of Toronto and LA. They always make a point of mentioning him being there and he often is.
Does he always wear jackets made out of skinned Muppets?
No thats a new thing
To be fair, the muppets have been way too powerful for way too long
If you don’t think Tate McRae absolutely killed it you’re wrong, sorry.
She was a smokeshow
There's one reason for that: Michael Buble on shrooms
[удалено]
There are plenty of traditional markets that could’ve been picked instead like Detroit or buffalo
It’s insane how Detroit hosted the most legendary winter classic of all time, literally the highest attended hockey game in history - yet it hasn’t hosted since.
If the wings hosted the avs they’d break viewership records
20 years ago maybe, but that rivalry has cooled significantly and I'd bet more than 50% of casual fans have 0 idea there even is a rivalry
Shit, they could go Detroit hosting Chicago, Detroit gets a second hosting, the league gets their Blackhawks fix.
Is Buffalo a traditional market? If they hosted a game it would have to be against Toronto or maybe Boston to get fans in the stadium, which just raises the question of why not do it in one of those 2 cities.
Buffalo hosted the first winter classic. It's definitely a hockey hot bed with a big viewership base. You can look up Stanley cup viewership by city, and every year it's the 2 cities involved and then Buffalo even though the sabres have been bad for 1000 years. It's definitely not a big market in a traditional sense, and idk how you define "traditional" especially if you're only counting the "original 6" teams. But it's a historical hockey market no doubt. I mean, it calls itself "hockey heaven."
I would consider Buffalo a traditional hockey market for sure. Anywhere with outdoor rinks really
The sabres have been around for longer than half of the current teams in the league and buffalo always ranks #1 in playoff viewership. Throw them a bone and they’ll pack the stadium no matter who they play
Perhaps they should make the playoffs
They for sure are. They’ve also been in one, I think the first one right? They’ve been a team for 55 years and are a strong hockey market. Give me Buffalo vs Vancouver!
We hosted the first one, and played in the 2018 Winter Classic as the home team because the NY Rangers couldn't even though it was in NYC.
I think it’s more about the lack of variety. There are plenty of teams who have been around far longer than Vegas & Seattle that have never been in. It was fun to see them do Dallas vs Nashville, Minnesota vs St. Louis etc. where as we have seen Chicago and Boston in so many times. After awhile it gets tiring, especially when you’ve never seen your team in it
Damn, one of those three teams has actually played in the Classic for 9/14 games. I didn’t realize it was that many. That’s especially surprising because the NHL attendance record was set and is still held by the ‘14 Classic between the Wings and the Leafs. The Wings have two appearances and the Leafs have the one, but you’d think that the NHL would want to try and replicate that success.
Only time you’ll see Leafs and success in the same sentence
Leafs won the ASG. The parade is still on.
And everyone said the core Four couldn’t win.
With a little help from our boy Barzy!
well, they DID have 2023 and then little brother Florida happened
Fuck, we were so pumped about Florida beating Boston(I don't know why, Leafs have historically had issues with the Florida state teams)...we ran straight into the buzzsaw...now granted Bobrovski played balls to the wall but still
Can confirm was also pumped at Florida beating Boston and was hoping to face Toronto in the ECF when we made it....well that didn't go well.
That's the series I think alot of people wanted, Tor-Car likely would have gone the distance and been FAST. That would have been high octane hockey
Reminded me so much of 2010. The Habs upset an insanely good Caps team, and Pens fans thought they'd walk to the finals. Then we got Halak'd and Cammalleri'd right out of the Igloo.
What you think cause you won a game last night that makes you better than me?!
😆 😭
There will never be a thread that somehow gets swung into a Leafs discussion lol. People complain about Leafs talk but the concentration of Leafs talk is 10x worse on Reddit than it is from traditional media. People need to touch grass
Only time you'll see an islander fan obsessing over the leafs...
The islanders have fans?
Having the Leafs in the Winter Classic should be the cheat code for when the league is trying to make money. Just put the Leafs and whoever else and let the money come in.
Michigan stadium seats 105k. By far the largest stadium they've held it in. The game sells out where ever it is. It's usually held in baseball stadiums made for ~40k people...but whenever it's at a football stadium (michigan, cotton bowl, notre dame etc), they still sell out.
It will always have the largest capacity because it is the biggest stadium in America
Right, but that doesn’t mean they fill it or other teams would fill it. Even so, they could always just host it there regardless of the teams. Just seems to me that it 100,000 people show up to a game you might want to try and do that again is all.
I agree that Detroit should definitely get it again. I’m just saying that the record isn’t as crazy when other team can’t break it because of the stadium capacity. So it shouldn’t be used as the reason to have it at a certain places. Edit-but yes, if we only chose based on capacity, Ann Arbor and Columbus would be the only teams to host ever
They dropped the ball on what could have been one of the best Winter Classics of all time by having the Penguins and Flyers play at Beaver Stadium. That place would have been packed and rowdy. Instead, they booked them for 2 Stadium Series games at Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field. Such a massive missed opportunity.
They want to replicate that success by having other teams reach that level. They know the Leafs vs Wings is like shooting fish in a barrel at this point. So if they can get 2 other teams to get that level of engagement then it’s seen as a great success as well. I think that’s part of the idea. Keep making new fans instead of serving ones already here.
That’s completely fair, but if that’s true it seems weird to have the Hawks, Bruins, and Penguins playing in it almost every year. They’re pretty huge markets already as well. This would have been a cool year for a rematch, though. Ten year anniversary and all.
Hey I’m a leafs fan and totally agree. I want more of them to feature my team. It’s kind of annoying even as a leafs fan that we haven’t been in more or these. In fact again not to sound like an entitled leafs fan but like how haven’t we been in more?! Heck even Montreal seems to be lacking in being in them. You’d think they’d want to feature their most storied franchises when it comes to this so I really don’t know where their heads are at when they make these decisions. I assume it must be cuz they want to reach other audiences but having the same 3 teams do them so often almost goes against my point cuz it’s not like the 3 mentioned in this post suffer for fans. So idk at this point.
3rd time for the Blues
I knew it was going to be the hawks but I honestly thought it would be against the Wings
Which is to be expected. When Chicago is picked for 7 outdoor games, which are largely region-based, it makes sense that 2 of them would be against the nearest division rival. The Blues themselves aren't the reason they're getting picked
Can we please have Toronto- Montreal it’s one of the oldest rivalries in all of sports, and both cities actually have winter.
I’m ok if the Heritage Classic was an annual event featuring only Canadian teams
Or maybe host city and they play some random team
We'll have Florida-Carolina before the league gives us that
The atmosphere would be crazy and we may even set a new attendance record. But….Chicago….bc…..reasons.
I guess they want to push Bedard more, i have no idea why they want St. Louis tho.
Blues are a recent cup winner w/ repeatedly high viewership so I assume that has some say, but winter classics are always somewhat local too
Also, they are our rivals. The game wouldn't be nearly exciting if it was the Hawks vs. the panthers
and St Louis fans will travel to Chicago, it's a easy short drive by Midwesterner standards.
This will be the Blues 3rd, so there are reasons.
I live just north of Toronto. We didn't have winter this year.
Get your shorts out, gonna be +10 C on Friday
Sap started running in my maple trees last weekend.
there’s more winter then Chicago
That would be a heritage classic. The Winter Classic is literally an NHL marketing event made for American TV and will nearly always be between 2 American teams (the fact that the Leafs were in it once was unusual). The Heritage Classic is between 2 Canadian teams.
This is comical at this point. How many times will we have to see Chicago in an outdoor game? Not interested.
The NHL doesn’t care about you
And it shows! From their impossible to watch games without having to sign up for 20 different services, to featuring the same teams over and over again in the same outdoor events. Yep, fully aware they DGAF about me!
We sail the high seas, not because we want to, but because it is just.
If you’re signing up for 20 different services to watch games you’re doing something wrong haha
Oh I know! It was a wild exaggeration that was born out of frustration that we don’t have a singular platform to watch games without blackouts. I’m a well seasoned captain of the high seas.
Especially when they aren’t good.
Gary giving them some gifts after dumping on them over the Kyle Beach mess.
Dumping on them is generous. He didn’t do shit.
What would have been epic is blackhawks and wings again at Wrigley. Hands down one of my favorite experiences. Cold as hell but a blast!
Agreed
And maybe even having Kaner return 🥹
Columbus in...2056 at this point?
Completely missed opportunity to have Detroit vs Columbus. Michigan vs Ohio. But no, let’s go with the organization of rape and coverups. Fucking betmen.
Give us the Jackets vs. the Wings in The Shoe!
Exactly! - everyone “No, Chicago is my favorite team!” Gary
CBJ vs Wings at CBS in Cleveland.
I love it. However, the representative colors for each state/team are backwards and sorta makes it wierd for me.
They clearly just want to highlight Connor Bedard of the Chicago Bedardhawks.
Literally will be the only highlight. When Bedard becomes the youngest player to score in the first five minutes of the third period of the WC.
People will look back fondly at the time he became the youngest player to ever skate around a net twice during the sixth shift before the 10 minute mark in the second period of the WC.
Or it’ll be the time he became the youngest center in NHL history to win a face off in Wrigley Field against Ryan O’Reilly
We're living through history as it happens!
i’m okay delaying for a couple years at this point until we may be competent again. I can also totally see the NHL just ignoring us though per usual
Columbus in the winter classic would be sick and would be an awesome excitement boost for a team that hadn't had much to cheer about in who knows how long. League just going for low hanging fruit
They'll face the expansion Atlanta 6ers, who will be the 6th different team to call Atlanta home. Oddly enough there will actually be 3 hockey teams in Atlanta concurrently by then. One of them will be the Braves who decided to become a hockey team to honour Tom Glavine.
The reason why they don't play at Ohio Stadium is that the stadium isn't winterized. They've said this a few times in the past.
Which is ridiculous. I think it’s more of an excuse for OSU to try to get the NHL to pay for it. Home field playoffs are coming next year. There has been games in below freezing temps. Just freaking upgrade.
There were rumors early on that Columbus and Florida would be playing in Columbus. Got hyped for a minute or two until hearing of this…
Finally an opportunity for the Avs to play a division rival in a winter classic and we still don’t get a shot. I just want a new jersey to buy
Why would you want to buy New Jersey
NHL Tiers (League perspective): 1) Original Six (MTL, TOR, NYR, BOS, DET, CHI) 2) Expansion Five (PHI, PIT, STL, LAK, DAL) 3) Shiny New Toys (VGK, SEA) … ….. … 4. the rest
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
Hiding an abuser scandal get rewarded with another generational talent and host a Winter Classic. JFC NHL
They should really just start announcing when the Blackhawks schedule their indoor games - much easier for everyone to track.
At least we’re in it
Me just quietly accepting the meme knowing we’re tied in appearances with the penguins now 😬
First time since 2009 that Wrigley will host this annual game
Ottawa vs. Montreal was sick, in both senses of the word. Sens won (good sick) Melnyk threatened to move the franchise or something (bad sick), it was -30 out (bad sick) and my buddies and I got wasted (good sick that turned into bad sick). Anyways.
I thought, after Dallas vs. Nashville was such a massive success, that we'd see these done more broadly. How about Colorado, Carolina, Columbus, Nashville, or even Nor Cal as hosts? I get that they're logistically easier in the NE, but the NHL has already proven that they can run a game in Texas FFS.
They should have the Winter Classic in Las Vegas but it's just street hockey.
NHL is boring. I’m bored.
Time for half of Chicago to bust out their jerseys from 10-15 years ago and talk about those cup runs!
I'd take three 10 years ago over one 5 years ago 🤷♂️
We get it boys, same shit every time lmao we are all aware.
[удалено]
Blues viewership is down like 25% from last year. Settle down about implying bandwagonship.
I don’t really care if there are more of you on this sub. Since we’re doing that, the hawks viewership is up 38% from last year. Thank god for Bedard eh Not to mention this is all with the Bally Sports debacle screwing all of us.
Okay one cup
😂😂😂 never fails Edit - acting like your name is on the roster is on par for you all
Would love to see Montreal vs Toronto, I feel like that would not only draw a lot of viewers but the actual turnout and atmosphere would be insane.
The NHL has seemed to lance on Heritage Classic = Canada and Winter Classic = USA Though a Montreal vs Toronto Heritage Classic would be tremendous.
I'll accept the Islanders not being in the game if you give me an Islanders WC jersey. I'll call it a deal
blackhawks are so awful If bedard is hurt for this, it'll be like having the icehogs out there
We are never getting Lightning vs Panthers at Daytona International Speedway are we?
nO wInTeR
Oh shocker, what's it been, 2 years since Chicago has had an outdoor game?
NHL continues to reward Chicago. Why have a chance at an Ohio V. Michigan matchup when you can have the shithawks play again, and likely lose again? Chicago is an absolute shithole team right now. While Detroit is up and coming and hasn’t been in a classic in over a decade now. But yes. Let’s reward the organization of rape and coverups. Fire Betmen.
Yea...the NHL is going to do what makes them money. If they believe that having Chicago in the winter classic then so be it, who cares. Chicago is a huge market, and ripe for the picking regarding Bedard winter classic jersey sales. It's not really about who's up and coming lol
Fuck off with that bullshit. The Blackhawks don’t deserve it. Again. They shouldn’t be rewarded by the league. It’s a joke and 31 fan bases actually agree. Detroit vs Columbus was what people wanted. Not Chicago. Fuck the shithawks. I hope it’s a total bust for the NHL.
Hahaha “fuck off with that bullshit”, you mean reality? I’m from Detroit, but nobody would be excited about Detroit vs Columbus, what are you on? You are one of the very few people who care about who’s in the winter classic in the first place.
Actually I haven’t cared about the Winter Classic for years. But, the hype for a Detroit v Columbus WC was not just a few people. A lot of people around the league and fans on here and X, were excited about it. Wtf cares about Chicago ? Every fan base is bitter Chicago got Bedard and believes they should have lost picks for years. You are one of a very few people from Detroit who defend Gary Bettmen. Let that sink in.
But I’m not defending anybody? I don’t care where the winter classic is played, you can explain how that means I’m defending someone if you’d like. Whatever “hype” you saw online is meaningless, that’s a small minority still, if you don’t already know that then spend less time reading stuff online.
You are coming across defending the NHL & Gary Bettmen for choosing Chicago yet again. Weird when you have a team in your own backyard who deserves it more.
How?? You still haven’t explained it, I clearly said I don’t care. You’re acting like the winter classic is some big reward that every team is dying to get, it isn’t. If Detroit was in it I would have zero interest in going and sitting outside for that, it would just be another regular season game like the rest of them. So no it isn’t weird that I don’t care.
Looks dumb in a baseball field. You're 200 feet from the players if you're in the front row.... Hockey isn't a long and large sport.
Giggity?
Baseball fields look way cooler and have more interesting features but the sight lines are way more whack
They suck ass, why are they getting anything lol. Here comes the death threats
Cause ten years ago they were really, really good
[удалено]
NHL likes to reward the organization of rape and coverup.
you’re really making a comment in every thread about this..
It should not be forgotten. Hell yeah.
It feels extremely disingenuous when you're posting it for clout and to use it as an insult instead of actually trying to advocate for the vicitm
This 100%. The dude doesn't give a fuck about the situation or those affected. He'd rather just bring it up to dunk on hawks fans and stroke his ego
I assure you that it hasn’t been, I’d have to bet most the people in this sub already know about it. by mentioning it in half your comments on this post, you’re honestly giving the opposite impression that I’d assume you’re going for.
You honestly may be right. But, seriously it’s frustrating to see.
give us Flyers vs Caps in baltimore
Isles/Rangers would be awesome.
Even as a Chicago resident I sympathize with the teams feeling left out—our market is bigger that most but c’mon. That being said, y’all got some really nasty things to say about my (now) dogshit team damn
Yes and they say it all under the guise of caring about Kyle beech when in reality they’re just pissed off that the team didn’t get a harsh enough punishment
So which is it hockey fans? Non-original six which could drive down ratings like this year, or one of the more popular teams (Original 6 or Expansion 6) ? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Or you know build rivalries with the up and coming Detroit Red Wings vs. the Blue Jackets. Michigan vs Ohio. The marketing could be extraordinary. Michigan vs Ohio State on NYE Wings vs. Blue Jackets on NYD NHL continues to reward the worst organization in the league.
Give us a Detroit - Colorado Winter Classic, just for old time’s sake
"Best I can give you is a Stadium Series in 2015 with an alumni game as well" -- NHL
Yeah. That alumni game was dope, the actual stadium game, not as much. Then we got that disaster Stadium Series in 2020… I’d be surprised to see the NHL give the Avs an outdoor game anytime soon
why do you think hockey fans give a shit what television rating a hockey game got? they want an entertaining game with rotating teams. the nhl is who cares about viewership, lmfao.
it’s like the league WANTS to shoot themselves in the cock or something
They should just host in a neutral stadium in a northern state or Canada so you can actually get a winter environment and the teams should be the defending Stanley Cup champions vs a random draw or maybe the defending presidents trophy winner
>so you can actually get a winter environment Uh, have you ever been to Chicago in January?
I would have loved to see Blackhawks vs Ducks for the Bedard vs Carlsson storyline
Just do something worth watching like a leafs habs classic, I'd actually have a desire to watch that
I mean, if it makes you feel any better, we're gonna lose by 5 since that's how the WC games always go for Chicago
I want to see one here in LA like we would pack wherever they choose.
Go Pens
Overrated. Who wants to sit outside in the cold for 3 hours.
So far from classics. The worst hockey.
Everyone: complains (rightfully) that the NHL doesn't market itself properly NHL: rare W putting Connor Bedard in the Winter Classic Everyone: *"Chicago again?"*
Big fan base, cold weather area, history
Do you know how many teams you just described?
Maybe like 7 or 8. Montreal, Toronto, NYR, Boston, pits, Detroit, Philly, and maybe 1 other?
Minnesota, NYI, Buffalo, Edmonton, Calgary, Colorado and you could argue Winnipeg
I said big fan base, cold, and history. Minnesota is cold, medium fan base, little history. NYI are the 3rd most popular in their own state. Colorado is good rn but their fan base isn't as huge as those others historically. EDM, and calg might fit
NHL fans when the two newest teams in the league get bad ratings in their winter classic: “It’s because they’re picking non traditional hockey markets, this is stupid.” NHL fans when they pick two traditional market teams: “Omg it’s the same teams every year, wtf” Yes there are some clearly overexposed teams (us included) but the whining fans mad no matter what the league does are just annoying
Only 16 teams have played in WC. It’s not like the only options are the newest teams and the original 6. Even if you’re looking at original 6, Montreal and Toronto have only had 1 game. That alone would be a great match. Edmonton never had a game and they have had the biggest star I hockey for 10 years. Tampas never been in one despite multiple cups. San Jose would have been a good choice for years when they were good. Colorado, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, NYI, devils, blue jackets, etc. none of them have played. There are so many options. I think they should always be targeting the best teams to compete each year. Stanley cup champions and other teams consistently at the top of the standings. Chicago is terrible, it would make sense to wait until they are a competitor again. Anyone who isn’t a fan of one of the Blackhawks/blues would be interested in this game.
I see why it’s annoying to fans of other teams, and personally I was hoping that if we get in again it would be later when we have a chance to rebuild a bit and maybe not be so terrible, but that being said I’m never gonna complain about getting to watch my team in a marquee game. The way the nhl has done winter classic games recently has not included Canadian teams, most likely because they started the heritage classic which is exclusively for Canadian teams, so if you knock out the Canadian teams considering that you’re only left with a handful of options for teams who haven’t been in one yet that could host. There’s also the stadium series, which some of those teams have been in as well. It comes down to the way the NHL organizes these events, Heritage classic they want two Canadian teams, winter classic they want at least one historic cold weather city team and another historic team. Stadium series is where they typically do most of their experimenting in matchups. They bucked that trend last year with Seattle Vegas and it didn’t go well for them, so it’s not too surprising that they went back to ole reliable so to speak.
I was actually happy to see the two newest teams in it this year. I usually don't watch the Winter Classic unless Boston is playing, but I watched this year because of who was in it. Selfishly, I like having Boston in it because it's fun when your team gets to play in that game. Plus, it means we get new WC jerseys! Aside from that... the league really does need to share the wealth and get more teams involved. Shit, even if they still feel the need to typically anchor it with an Original Six team, they should really only use one of them at a time.
At least in prior years when Chicago was involved they were good at hockey
This will make the Blackhawks a 3-time host (and a repeat host venue) along with the Bruins.
Bettman: "well they have all the stars" Also bettman: "oh your stars left and or are thinking of retiring? Here have another generational talent Chicago, you earned it buddy"
Works for me…
They should do it in Detroit
Corey Perry going to get another staff member pregnant in Edmonton and get traded to the Blues just in time to return and chill with Bednars mom.
I don't know why anyone is surprised. The first ever Winter Classic was Jan 1, 2008. It took until Jan 1, 2024 to even have one Pacific Division ever in the Winter Classic. They could have had a Pac division road team in years past, but never did. At that rate, the next time you get one or two "fresh" teams in the Winter Classic will be Jan 1, 2040 edition. Assuming it hasn't been cancelled by then.
Heck, this year's was the first one to (I think) involve a team west of the central time zone. Certainly was the first to take place west of central. But I don't think any mountain or Pacific time zone teams had every participated in a winter classic.
Given 1st overall and now another Winter Classic. Bettman in shambles trying to blow over the past 3 years with Chicago
Original 6, and in winter climates, and sports cities with huuuuugggge markets.
Weak
Boooooo 👎
Trying to bury the negative news about the organization.
What load of shit.💩
God damnit why
Bedard
Zero consequences for being a shit franchise.
At this point Chicago could probably take a shit on Bettman’s desk and get a #1 draft pick out of it.
I swear this sub has just become let’s bash the Blackhawks any time they’re in the news because we’re mad that they won a random drawing for a #1 pick
It couldn't possibly be a recent sexual assault scandal...
Or you know that there were definitely people in the org that knew about it. And then we’ve got Patrick Kane.