The State of Outdoor Hockey

[voyageur]

As much as this may be an old man ranting at the wind, it befuddles me that the NHL has announced two outdoor games in Florida for next year, and every January 1st there is the Winter Classic, but every year Hockey Day in Canada goes without an outdoor game, in literally the climate made for outdoor hockey. Does Disney now own outdoor hockey? Can anyone explain why there has not been an outdoor game in Montreal, which could likely break attendance records if planned right? There hasn't been a better outdoor hockey game than the original Heritage Classic. Although the one in Regina was top notch. And Buffalo in the snow deserves honorable mention.

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[Panteras]

Same reason NFL bothers playing games in Europe…exposure and the hope to gain new fans.

The real crime with the outdoor games is how much the NHL has bastardized it by having like 15 of them a year. When it was just the winter classic it had meaning and actual prestige. Now I don’t think anyone even bothers unless their team is playing in it.

 

[eojsmada]

Same reason NFL bothers playing games in Europe…exposure and the hope to gain new fans.

The real crime with the outdoor games is how much the NHL has bastardized it by having like 15 of them a year. When it was just the winter classic it had meaning and actual prestige. Now I don’t think anyone even bothers unless their team is playing in it.

This 100%. It's overdone, now, to the point that people are fairly numb to it. Much like the all-star game.

 

[Oilslick941611]

This 100%. It's overdone, now, to the point that people are fairly numb to it. Much like the all-star game.

if youre burnt out on it, its not for you, its for new fans.

 

[Viqsi]

Hmm. Teams Folks Don't Approve Of get outdoor game -> "Outdoor games are trash now."

Funny how that keeps happening.

 

[Voight]

Same reason NFL bothers playing games in Europe…exposure and the hope to gain new fans.

The real crime with the outdoor games is how much the NHL has bastardized it by having like 15 of them a year. When it was just the winter classic it had meaning and actual prestige. Now I don’t think anyone even bothers unless their team is playing in it.

Yup, outdoor games lost their "magic" that year the NHL decided to do 5 or 6 of them

 

[BB79]

The first couple were fun, they're a flat out snoozefest now. Do away with it for a few years..or maybe just have all star weekend outdoors. It's a useless weekend anyways

 

[TheDoldrums]

As much as this may be an old man ranting at the wind,

it’s “an old man yelling at a cloud,” old man

 

[HockeyVirus]

if youre burnt out on it, its not for you, its for new fans.

I hate this reasoning. Same logic as "it's made for kids it's not supposed to be good".

 

[BraveCanadian]

As much as this may be an old man ranting at the wind, it befuddles me that the NHL has announced two outdoor games in Florida for next year, and every January 1st there is the Winter Classic, but every year Hockey Day in Canada goes without an outdoor game, in literally the climate made for outdoor hockey. Does Disney now own outdoor hockey? Can anyone explain why there has not been an outdoor game in Montreal, which could likely break attendance records if planned right? There hasn't been a better outdoor hockey game than the original Heritage Classic. Although the one in Regina was top notch. And Buffalo in the snow deserves honorable mention.

The simple answer is that they don't care about the Canadian market because we show up already.

 

[NoelVilla]

Just scrap them all. It's not cool or fun anymore. Waste of time.

 

[Auston Marlander]

As much as this may be an old man ranting at the wind, it befuddles me that the NHL has announced two outdoor games in Florida for next year, and every January 1st there is the Winter Classic, but every year Hockey Day in Canada goes without an outdoor game, in literally the climate made for outdoor hockey. Does Disney now own outdoor hockey? Can anyone explain why there has not been an outdoor game in Montreal, which could likely break attendance records if planned right? There hasn't been a better outdoor hockey game than the original Heritage Classic. Although the one in Regina was top notch. And Buffalo in the snow deserves honorable mention.

Outdoor games in flortate a bad idea, and monteeal should get one, but which stadium in Montreal is going to house more than 105,000 fans?

Having been to one and watched most on TV, I can say these are 100% for people in attendance and not for great hockey on TV. The Buffalo-Toronto game in Hamilton was a blast and I hope fans in Montreal or Ottawa get one.

 

[qc14]

As always, these events are not for a national TV audience -- they are for local fans who attend the games. The three outdoor games I've been to have been some of the most fun I've ever had at sporting events and I highly recommend anyone go to them if their team is playing.

As for why they haven't been to Montreal specifically -- my guess is that there is no good stadium for a game there. The Olympic Stadium would be a shitty venue even if it didn't have a dome, and Saputo and Molson both have sub-25k capacity.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Montreal doesn’t have a venue that would break attendance records.
I think they get one soon.
Like others have said, it’s for the market the game is in, and their opponent.

 

[Ratsreign]

The simple answer is that they don't care about the Canadian market because we show up already.

They have the belief that US markets won’t tune in for Canadian games. It’s silly, but it is what it is.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

My team rarely gets picked, so I've stopped caring. It's whatever lol

 

[57special]

Simple, it's a short sighted cash grab.

 

[PlayersLtd]

As always, these events are not for a national TV audience -- they are for local fans who attend the games. The three outdoor games I've been to have been some of the most fun I've ever had at sporting events and I highly recommend anyone go to them if their team is playing.

As for why they haven't been to Montreal specifically -- my guess is that there is no good stadium for a game there. The Olympic Stadium would be a shitty venue even if it didn't have a dome, and Saputo and Molson both have sub-25k capacity.

Can you elaborate on what makes them so good?

 

[HanSolo]

I think conceptually, the idea behind outdoor games is cool. But as far is it being an effective marketing tool it's overbloated and I personally never make the effort to tune into them and I've only attended one, the Ducks-Kings game at Dodger's Stadium.

Personally I'd say I don't really have a problem with the league and teams doing them but if they're hoping to see an uptick in national viewership, I don't think they will ever cause a late surge in the popularity of the sport.

 

[qc14]

Can you elaborate on what makes them so good?

The three I've been to have been Wings vs. Leafs at the Big House, Caps vs. Blackhawks at Nats Park, and Caps vs. Leafs at Navy Stadium. All three were very cool venues and the atmospheres were just great. Also definitely helped by the fact that all were good games with notable moments -- snow and a shootout for the first, Brouwer scoring with 20 seconds left to win it for the second, and the power delay at the third. I really enjoyed all of the fan fest aspects of all three as well, and the ability to tailgate at UM and Navy.

Overall though they were all just spectacles in a way that going to a normal regular season is not. I also appreciate that they're real regular season games with real implications -- I would much rather the Caps get a new outdoor game than host the ASG for that reason.

 

[Viqsi]

My team rarely gets picked, so I've stopped caring.

Hi. I'm a Jackets fan.

We can't all be Chicago.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

As a fan of a team that's tied for second for most outdoor games(and I went to two), it's still overdone. The year they did 6 ruined it as many have said. Some venues have already been repeated. The other thing is, there's only so many MLB ballparks or NFL stadiums or even CFL or college stadiums. There's a few great venues still not done yet, but sooner or later, they're going to run out of viable things to do. You saw it this year. Wrigley's been done before, didn't help Chicago isn't any good right now, and most people didn't bother with it.

Next one in Pittsburgh has to be at PNC Park, SJ should host one at the Giants ballpark in San Francisco(when they're better), they have to do Lambeau at some point. I'd love a Flyers home game at Franklin Field. I actually like the Florida games next year, at least it's a fresh idea.

 

[tarheelhockey]

While I agree with the complaints that the NHL watered down the novelty of outdoor games when they went crazy having a bunch of them, that was also way back in the 2014-17 timeframe. Since then, there hasn’t been a season with more than 3.

And while 3 sounds like a lot, bear in mind one of them is the Winter Classic. Only half the league has had the opportunity to participate in a WC (compared to Chicago being in 5 and hosting twice). So in recent years we’re talking about 1-2 Stadium Series games a year to allow the other half of the league to have that experience. It’s not really THAT watered down unless you’re still hanging on to annoyance from a decade ago.

 

[Sniper99]

Im fine with the Outdoor games. Just as long as they're played in stadiums/fields meant for outdoor games. The one at Dodgers stadium i thought was dumb as hell and these games in Florida just as stupid. The players seem to love them, just because the Johnny Nofun doesnt like them doesnt mean they should stop. Those Channel Up and Down buttons on your remote are easy to use.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

I could be wrong, it happens, but I feel like the outdoor games I have paid attention too the hockey kinda sucks.