Winter Classic 2012: NHL's Premier Event Is Great, but It Could Be Much Better

The NHL's Winter Classic is one of the most exciting and well-run events in sports. The concept is absolutely brilliant; taking hockey players back to their pond hockey roots they enjoyed for endless amounts of hours as kids is one of the best sporting ideas in recent memory. The league also does a great job of promoting it, and NBC Sports' coverage is great as always.

They say you can't replicate the atmosphere of playoff hockey in the regular season, but the Winter Classic comes pretty darn close. The players take this game so seriously, because who knows if they'll play in one again. It's truly a unique spectacle.

I'd much rather watch the Winter Classic in early January than a major BCS bowl game—the event is that good.

But for all the NHL does right with the Winter Classic, the event could be so much better, and it starts with the teams playing in it.

For starters, the Philadelphia Flyers will host this year's Classic at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, on Jan. 2 against the New York Rangers.

This is the second time the Flyers are going to participate in a Winter Classic. They were beaten by the Boston Bruins 2-1 in OT at the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

The Flyers are a popular, talented team from a large hockey market, but they've already played in a Winter Classic. 

Every original six team has played in a Winter Classic except two of the sport's most popular and successful franchises: the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. (The Rangers will play in their first Classic this season.)

The NHL should have had the Canadiens play the Bruins in 2010 at Fenway instead of the Flyers. The Bruins and Canadiens are by far the most intense rivals in hockey, and taking that rivalry to the Winter Classic would have been an amazing scene.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have also played in the Winter Classic twice. They won the inaugural Classic in 2008 against the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout, then beat the Washington Capitals last season 3-1 at Heinz Field.

I understand that the NHL wants certain stars in the Classic, but the game needs to expand the teams that participate.

Where are the West Coast teams? What about the Canadian teams? Will teams from southern cities play a part?

The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have had some quality teams and superstar players the last four years, but have never been invited to a Winter Classic.

The San Jose Sharks haven't been in a Winter Classic despite being one of the most successful (regular season at least) and talented teams in the NHL for nearly a decade.

Even though San Jose doesn't get as much snow as the teams commonly playing in the Winter Classic, many of the players on the Sharks grew up playing hockey outside during the winter.

Even the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the best teams with arguably hockey's best young player—Steven Stamkos—should be considered for the Winter Classic.

The Winter Classic is a fantastic idea that the NHL has gotten right, for the most part, every season it has been put on.

But there needs to be more variety in the event with more teams, not just the original six and Northeastern markets, and definitely more Canadian teams. 

The NHL has its premier midseason event that so few sports have, and despite all its success, it could be even greater.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter for Bruins and NHL news and analysis.