by Zach Bigalke

Created on: January 29, 2008

The Winter Classic ran four years on the heels of the first modern-era outdoor NHL game, the 2003 Heritage Classic held in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. Back then, it was heralded as a great publicity draw for the new league as 57,167 braved the sub-zero cold as the hometown Oilers lost 4-3 to toque-adorned Jose Theodore and the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Photos of Theodore and the rink and the game were reprinted in sports sections across the country and the world...

... But the enthusiasm didn't last. Like its Canadian precedent, the Winter Classic will prove to be a short-term publicity stunt. Several problems were not addressed with this game before it was played:

1. SCHEDULING

The 2008 Winter Classic, the first outdoor NHL game to be held in the United States and second outdoor game in modern NHL history, was hosted by the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph J. Wilson Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills... on New Year's Day. The game competed directly with the epic Michigan-Florida thriller in the Capital One Bowl, and was planted in the thick of a bloated sports schedule traditionally reserved for college football. Hockey, a niche sport trying to regain the footing it lost after an entire season was lost to lockout in 2005, simply does not have the cachet to battle directly, and the numbers showed the fact. While hockey drew a 2.4 rating, these were the best numbers the sport had experienced since the short-lived novelty of a glowing puck graced Fox broadcasts of NHL games.

2. ICE CONDITIONS

The reality is that, by playing an outdoor game, two NHL teams are placing greater risk on their players as they contend with the exterior and uncontrollable factor of climate as well as the regular rigors of their profession. While the ice crew in Buffalo did a valiant job in getting the rink serviceable in one week, there were still holes regularly forming by the third period which required near-constant patching. The risk of scheduling these outdoor games is that the weather will not cooperate to produce ideal ice conditions; Buffalo didn't disappoint. The 2003 Heritage Classic worked so well despite - or precisely because - of the cold. The ice was able to harden better with a 45-degree decrease in the temperatures encountered in Buffalo four years later. Further, the snow provided drama on the television... and next to no sight lines for the players. Having played in swirling snow before, it looks easier on camera than it is in real life...

The NHL plays a game of Russian

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>