Each year since 2008 the NHL has played an outdoor game dubbed the Winter Classic. This season the 2012 Winter Classic will feature the New York Rangers versus the Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

These games annually take place before monster crowds, and each has been a resounding success. The NHL has done a great job of advertising, rotating the teams and having the games nationally televised. These are all great things for the popularity of the NHL.

The Winter Classic is hockey's ambassador to the non-hockey world. Considering the massive success of this game each year, isn't it time that the NHL played more than one outdoor hockey game per season?

What a power play it would be for the NHL to announce that to go along with next season's realignment they will play one outdoor game next season in each of the new divisions.

Obviously, there are some locations that couldn't host an outdoor game. But there are enough venues in each division to keep up a stable and rotating permanent outdoor game for each of the four divisions. Granted, some teams would never get to host one (which is no different than now), but each team would get to participate (and more often).

The NHL would get an increase in positive publicity, nationally televised games with huge television audiences and an opportunity to draw some sports fans who might not normally attend an NHL game.