Winter Classic is Official

[cardsfan04]

Sorry if this is old news, but this is first time I saw anybody say it is for sure being played here. Everything else was "sounds like," "I'm hearing," etc.
https://twitter.com/jprutherford/status/706865093275832320

[dmiles2186]

The rumor is they will make the public announcement tomorrow w/ the Blackhawks in town. So that's probably why it's official without being official.

[gaijin]

w00t

I will definitely be there.

[Kerfuffle]

Eh still sounds like rumor. I'll wait for the official announcement. And I hope it's not us as your opponent - we can't win outdoor games.

[cardsfan04]

Eh still sounds like rumor. I'll wait for the official announcement. And I hope it's not us as your opponent - we can't win outdoor games.

It's not a rumor anymore. Announcement is expected tomorrow with the blackhawks in town, which likely means that they will be the opponent.

[Winning Unlimited]

What The (Frank)!!!
TWO WINTER CLASSICS?!!?!

http://www.tsn.ca/plans-for-a-leafs-win ... r-1.450239

[ecbm]

What The (Frank)!!!
TWO WINTER CLASSICS?!!?!

http://www.tsn.ca/plans-for-a-leafs-win ... r-1.450239

Yep, and the Blues get the second one. Feels like a bit of kick in the nuts.

That said, the other one features one very poor team and one in pretty noticeable decline. I wouldn't be surprised if its ratings are crap outside of Detroit metro/southern Ontario.

[cprice12]

Here is video of the announcement inside Scottrade...since NBCSN didn't feel the need to show any of it.

[Kerfuffle]

3 out of 4 teams are original six - so it's clear where the NHL front office stands on this. History, ratings, legacies, championships past and present must have all weighed in here.

[F Keenan]

What The (Frank)!!!
TWO WINTER CLASSICS?!!?!

http://www.tsn.ca/plans-for-a-leafs-win ... r-1.450239

Yep, and the Blues get the second one. Feels like a bit of kick in the nuts.

That said, the other one features one very poor team and one in pretty noticeable decline. I wouldn't be surprised if its ratings are crap outside of Detroit metro/southern Ontario.

How the (Frank) is it a kick in the nuts? It's the Winter Classic. The game in Toronto isn't. Also, the game on Jan 1 will be on the same day as the NFL playoffs, of course ratings will be low.

[cprice12]

What The (Frank)!!!
TWO WINTER CLASSICS?!!?!

http://www.tsn.ca/plans-for-a-leafs-win ... r-1.450239

Yep, and the Blues get the second one. Feels like a bit of kick in the nuts.

That said, the other one features one very poor team and one in pretty noticeable decline. I wouldn't be surprised if its ratings are crap outside of Detroit metro/southern Ontario.

How the (Frank) is it a kick in the nuts? It's the Winter Classic. The game in Toronto isn't. Also, the game on Jan 1 will be on the same day as the NFL playoffs, of course ratings will be low.

I get what he is saying.
The Winter Classic is supposed to kick off the outdoor series and be the main event. But Detroit and Toronto are playing on New Years day, which is supposed to be reserved for the Winter Classic, and then we play in the Winter Classic the following day.
It is a bit weird. Especially since Detroit and Toronto JUST PLAYED in the big house in the Winter Classic just a couple years ago.
The NHL has no shame in trotting the same exact teams out there time and time again. It's a big reason why ratings are on the decline...that and they are over saturating the market. The outdoor games are losing their luster big time because of all of the games they are doing.
They really need to scale it back to one or two games a year max and quit sending Detroit and Chicago out there seemingly every year. As a fan, when I see the same teams out there all of the time I'm like...yeah, I saw this movie already. Not quite as interested as I was before.

[ecbm]

All things considered, I'm really hoping for some very weak ratings for the Leafs-Red Wings game, to finally put the "original six" bullshit to bed.

3 out of 4 teams are original six

Yeah, shocker that the "Centennial Classic" doesn't feature the Ducks and the Wild.

[cardsfan04]

They accidentally revealed the Winter Classic jerseys yesterday in the NHL.com shop. These look pretty sweet.
https://twitter.com/icethetics/status/794365761930133504

[gaijin]

They accidentally revealed the Winter Classic jerseys yesterday in the NHL.com shop. These look pretty sweet.
https://twitter.com/icethetics/status/794365761930133504

It's not bad. It's one of our classic jerseys, which is nice, but there are better ones to choose from, in my opinion.

Here's the same one in vintage photos (Red Berenson):

[F Keenan]

I think they hit this one out of the park. I love it.