NHL Winter Classic: Who Should Faceoff in 2012-2013

The city of Philadelphia will host the 2011-2012 Winter Classic as the New York Rangers faceoff against the Philadelphia Flyers.  Unlike the previous Classics, normally played on New Year's Day, the puck will drop January 2, 2012, due to College football Bowl games and NFL contractual obligations. 

With this change, now would be a good time to see what else could be changed in future years to improve this winter spectacle.

As a Rangers fan, I am ecstatic to see this match up, although I still have mixed feelings. The battle of the Broads should make for a great game, but are there other match-ups that would be more exciting or worthy of national media attention?

The answer is yes. Just to mention one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche would have the ability to draw a massive viewing. 

The Penguins have already played in two Classics.  Now the Flyers will be in their second.  There is speculation that the Detroit Red Wings will be the host of the 2012-2013 Classic, thus adding another team to the multiple Classic appearances list.  A question that needs to be asked is, how are these match-ups being decided?

It is as plain as day to see how some of the match-ups were decided.  Crosby vs. Ovechkin, and two Original Six teams squaring off, the Red Wings and Blackhawks.  But how did the NHL come up with Sabers versus Penguins and Bruins versus Flyers?

Everyone knows that Crosby is the face of the NHL and he has done a great job, but I personally think they are over exposing Crosby. Crosby, with the help of Mario Lemieux, took a team headed for bankruptcy out of the ashes and created a hockey market in the steel city. 

Ovechkin has also given Washington a hockey market.  Couldn't a Stamkos appearance in a Winter Classic help Tampa—a team struggling to put fans in the seats—if he were the face?

The Winter Classic is the most watched regular season contest. The Classic’s ratings have actually rivaled the Stanley Cup’s. The lack of Canadian teams involvement in the Classic has caused a loss of interest in Canada, as the ratings continue to decline. Sports Illustrated columnist Dan Shaughnessy has stated,  “now hockey owns New Year’s Day the way baseball owns the Fourth of July and football owns Thanksgiving.”

I would personally like to see all 30 NHL teams bid on the opportunity to play in this annual event, much like the Olympic bidding. If a team that can not host the event due to the city’s climate, move the event to a neutral site.

This would open up the NHL league and allow warm weather, small market and Canadian teams the opportunity for some much needed US exposure, thus improving the overall ratings.  In return, some new rivalries could be generated. 

These newly created rivalries could also help with the realigning of the league, which is soon to come.

The NHL’s best interest would be to give us, the fans, a voice.  Let us tell them the match-ups we would like to see.  Just imagine, the Montreal Canadians playing the Colorado Avalanche at the Dog House (NFL's Cleveland Browns Stadium) in Cleveland, Ohio. 

In this scenario, everyone benefits.  The fans get to relive a historic rivalry—the Avalanche would take the ice in the Quebec Nordiques sweaters—along with both teams receiving national exposure.

And as a bonus, the casual fan might take interest in his local team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. or choose to follow one of the two teams playing.  Of course both teams have the climate to host a January game, but a neutral site would spice things up a bit.