NHL Winter Classic: 10 Matchups the NHL Must Have in the Future

It’s time to get more teams involved in the Winter Classic.

The Flyers join the Penguins the only two franchises to have played in two al fresco regular season contests.

So while the state of Pennsylvania has been represented twice in the Classic, hockey hotbeds like the Twin Cities, St. Louis and Denver have yet to see their teams play in the outdoor phenomenon.

Additionally, the NHL has seen success in non-traditional markets. Gary Bettman and Co. have taken a lot of heat for placing franchises in California, Florida and other warm-weather areas.

It’s time they showcase successful Sun Belt franchises on the regular season’s largest stage.

The following are the top 10 matchups I’d like to see.

NOTE: I’m all for having frequent Heritage Classic matchups. Canada loves hockey, and I don’t mind seeing an outdoor game between two of the seven squads north of the border every year.

I have included only American teams, however, in this slideshow because the Winter Classic has yet to have a Canada-United States matchup.

10. Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes (LP Field)

This one is pretty out there, but the Predators have developed a strong fanbase in Nashville and are no longer part of the relocation conversation.

The Preds have made the playoffs seven of the last eight years, and last season, the team got a standing ovation when they advanced to the second round for the first time in franchise history.

The Canes, of course, are the old Whalers, and this would be a great tribute to the revered old squad.

This could open a can of worms in Hartford, but if done professionally, it may be seen as a great gesture and could be marketed to fans that rock the Old-Time Hockey Whalers gear.

Both teams have developed niche fanbases in non-traditional markets, and it's time the NHL honor those fans.

9. St. Louis Blues vs. Kansas City Scouts? (Busch Stadium)

There’s a caveat here: The NHL needs to bring hockey to Kansas City.

I see it as a good move for the league. There’s a stadium there, and die-hard fans that love their city and support the perennially hapless Chiefs and Royals.

The Islanders and Coyotes are struggling, and a good hockey team would take off in KC.

A great way to introduce the second coming of the Scouts to the league would to pit them against the cross-town St. Louis Blues in historic Busch Stadium.

St. Louis is a great sports town, in general, and they love their Blues down there.

They deserve a Winter Classic in their city.

8. Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Detroit Red Wings (Ohio Stadium)

This would be a bigger part of the discussion if the Blue Jackets had more success since their inception in 2000.

The way to make this work is to have Ohio State play Michigan in hockey the day before the game to generate interest in the second event.

The hope is that the matchup of the two rival schools would carry over to the professional hockey game.

This would get the Red Wings a second Winter Classic game (which, in all honesty, is bound to happen) and reward the die-hard fans in Columbus that have stuck it out with the hapless franchise.

Columbus, of course, could rock the old-school Cleveland Barons unis.

7. New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings (Yankee Stadium)

Hopefully, the NHL will wait to put the Rangers back into the Classic for a couple of years, but Yankee Stadium is a revered sports venue, and the Blueshirts should get another outdoor contest in a few years.

It’s a big market with a passionate fanbase.

It would be outstanding to have an East-West showdown between the two largest cities in America.

Each team has been around a while—the Rangers are an O6 team, the Kings came in the second expansion—and have a lot of fans.

This is the direction the league should go in with the second Rangers Winter Classic game.

6. Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Marlins Stadium)

It might be a while before this happens because the Lightning fanbase is recovering after getting screwed by management* and the Panthers look like they’ll make the playoffs for the first time since 2000 this season.

*Dan Boyle and Brad Richards, two cornerstones of their Stanley Cup team in 2004, were let go with ample time left on their contracts due to money issues.

The Marlins have a new stadium, however, that’s retractable, and experts say they could play hockey during the winter in Miami.

Miami has notoriously fickle fans, but it’s a big city, and the Bolts have a larger fanbase than most people realize.

Either way, a Sunshine State showdown in the Winter Classic will eventually be a good move for the NHL.

NOTE: The Rays are going to have to get a new stadium if they want to stay in the city. That may be a more reasonable place for a Florida Winter Classic.

5. San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings (AT&T Park)

A Californian Winter Classic needs to happen.

Since the Gretzky era, the Kings have cultivated a strong fanbase in notoriously fair-weather LA. The franchise has been rejuvenated with Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Co., and the Staples Center is filled every night the Kings play.

When LA joined the league in 1967, there was another California team: the Bay Area-based California Seals. The Seals couldn’t draw fans and eventually merged with the Minnesota North Stars.

The NHL went back to the Bay Area in 1991, however, and the Sharks now draw 17,500-plus fans every night and are a staple in the city.

The Dallas Stars probably own the rights to the Seals unis, but if the Sharks were allowed to wear throwbacks with the seal logo, it would bridge the connection between both Bay Area franchises and would be a great tribute to hockey’s success in the Golden State.

NOTE: A Ducks-Sharks matchup may make more sense because the Ducks entered the league at around the same time as San Jose (1993) and would have sweet throwbacks. It would be a slap in the face of the Kings to put them in this game, however, because they have the some of the most fairweather fans in the league (although they’d probably show up for this game).

4. Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Target Field)

Minnesota needs a Winter Classic. Hands down.

Target Field is a beautiful venue in downtown Minneapolis, and the Land of 10,000 Lakes is flooded with hockey aficionados from Mankato to Duluth.

The "classic" event will remind Minnesota fans of both pond hockey and the North Stars.

Before moving to Dallas, the North Stars and Blackhawks had a bitter rivalry, and now that Minnesota is moving into a conference with nearby Chicago, and it’s time to reignite this rivalry.

It would also be appropriate the Hawks, a rejuvenated team in a big city, another Winter Classic.

NOTE: The Vikings should be getting a new stadium soon. The game could also be played there.

3. Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues (Comerica Park)

Known colloquially as Hockeytown, Detroit has a devoted fanbase, and Michigan in general is an American hockey hotbed.

The Wings have already been in a Winter Classic, but it would be appropriate to bring the game to the state that hosts the USA National Development Team and has strong collegiate programs in Ann Arbor and East Lansing.

The Blues, as mentioned earlier, deserve to be part of the Winter Classic, and this would be a great way to get them involved.

2. Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche (Comerica Park or Mile High)

If not St. Louis, Colorado would be a great matchup for the Wings.

These two teams had a bitter rivalry dating back to the Claude Lemieux-Patrick Roy days.

In short: these guys didn’t like each other.

This game could be hosted in either city.

The reasons for having the game in Detroit are listed on the previous slide.

Denver is cold enough to host an NHL game, obviously, and has two venues—Coors Field (MLB) and Sports Authority Field (NFL)—that could host the game.

Coors Field is right in the middle of the city and a destination for all baseball fans, but Denver is a football town, and it would seem appropriate to feed off that passion when scheduling a Winter Classic.

Wherever it is played, this Winter Classic matchup must happen.

1. Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars (Target Field)

I remember two things from the Minnesota Wild’s inaugural game in 2000:

1. Minnesota-native Darby Hendrickson scoring the first goal in team history.
2. Norm Green Sucks! Chants.

Norm Green is, of course, the man who moved the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas in 1993.

This matchup would be electric.

Fans in Minnesota still rock the North Stars gear. They are still bitter because this is, at its core, a classic example of a fat cat owner saying "Screw the loyal fans, I’m going to a bigger city."

Lost in the vitriol is the fact that hockey has benefited from putting hockey in non-traditional markets like Dallas.

The Stars developed a strong fanbase by winning the Stanley Cup in 1999 and returning in 2000. Interest has waned as a result of current owner Tom Hicks’ mismanagement of the franchise, but with a new owner will come financial stability and success on the ice.

A Winter Classic appearance, without a doubt, would galvanize interest in hockey in Dallas and is a must in Minnesota.