NHL Announces Classic Decision

  The city of Philadelphia had a busy day yesterday as the worst kept secret in the league was officially revealed. The Flyers will play host to the fifth NHL Winter Classic, which will be played at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies’ MLB club. The Flyers will take on the New York Rangers on January 2nd, 2012 – set one day later than usual due to a scheduling conflict with the NFL’s end of the season scheduling.

  NHL commissioner Gary Bettmann broke the news in a media conference on the field where the game is to be played with both clubs’ management groups and players on sight.

"I don't think anybody could have imagined how big this event has become in such a short period of time," Bettman said.

  The conference was rather colorful as GM and president of the New York Rangers Glen Sather took a few jabs at the Flyers.

"We're going to come to Philadelphia," Sather said, "and we are going to win." Fans jeered him on as he continued.

"Now that's more like it! I knew I could get a rise out of you sooner or later," he said. "It's a great event. I've respected the fans in Philadelphia all the years I've been here. I'm sorry we kicked the hell out of you twice in the Stanley Cup, and we're going to do the same thing on the second, and at the end of the year we will be carrying the Cup, just like the Yankees are going to have the world championship as well."

  Flyers’ founder and chairman  Ed Snider rushed to the podium to give it back to Sather.

"When he said, 'we kicked the hell out of you in two Stanley Cups,' he wasn't talking about the Rangers," Snider said. "I remember kicking the hell out of the Rangers on the way to our Cups!"

  Though the Winter Classic is and always will be a spectacle, the news doesn’t leave me as excited as I want to be for this event. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Philadelphia will be a great host, or that the game will not be exciting and competitive, but I do have some concerns about the NHL’s choice for the 2011-2012 Winter Classic.

  Primarily, I’m concerned the league will narrow their focus on a particular market and particular geographic location. While the geography and market must be considered in hosting such an illustrious event, the Classic is starting to look a bit repetitive.

  The distance traveled between last year’s Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, PA and this year’s in Philadelphia is a slim 305 miles. For some reason, the NHL seems to have a Classic love affair with Pennsylvania. The Penguins hosted last year’s game at Heinz Field, home of the Steelers NFL team. It was certainly a success, as the city did a great job in hosting such an event. It was, however, the Penguins second go in the Winter Classic since the official Classic debut in Buffalo, New York.

  The Flyers, on the same token, participated in the Winter Classic just two short seasons ago, as they too will take to the outdoor game for the second time.

  What I’d like to see going forward is a broader spectrum of tangible selections. Last year I think the NHL did a good job in also hosting the Heritage Classic in Calgary Alberta, as the Flames took on the Candiens outdoors. Canada alone sets the tone for a storied outdoor game, with multiple viable options for a host.

  Large cities within North America like Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Montreal, and Washington all come to mind as legitimate successes going forward. The divisional matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks was ingenious, providing a purpose-filled game with two traditional hockey markets and franchises. The NHL went with the same philosophy in this divisional matchup of the Flyers and Rangers.

  This year’s Classic is sure to be a success with two top tier Eastern Conference teams battling it out. Big names like Jaromir Jagr, Henrik Lundqvist, Brad Richards, and Marian Gaborik will experience their first outdoor game with a wealth of skill sets to entertain the world as all eyes fall upon the Winter Classic as highly regarded event in the sports world, even outside of regular hockey viewership.

  Geographically speaking, the Rangers and Flyers are the closest to ever play in the Winter Classic. They have played 261 games against each other in the regular season and gone head-to-head in 10 playoff series.

  The two clubs met for the first time in 2011-2012 on the evening of the announcement, in a hard fought and chippy pre-season game. The Flyers would make Rangers GM Glen Sather swallow his words for the day, as they topped the Rangers 5-3 in the back-and-fourth contest.

  If the game is indicative of how the rivalry will play out through this season, then the build-up and the result of the Winter Classic should be great. I do fell, though, that if the NHL announces Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia for next year’s Winter Classic, I’m going to start making new year’s plans.

  All jokes aside, the Winter Classic has produced some intriguing facts through the years.

  Since the inception of the NHL's Winter Classic outdoor game starting in2007–08, the away team in each instance has gone on to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose the series. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the visiting team against the Buffalo Sabres in 2007–2008, only to lose to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 Finals. The Detroit Red Wings visited the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008–2009, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 Finals. The Philadelphia Flyers visited the Boston Bruins in 2009–2010, only to go on to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Finals. The Washington Capitals would break this trend, losing in the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

  On the contrary, historically one of the teams in the Winter Classic games has gone on to win the Stanley Cup in the subsequent season, starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals after their 2008 Winter Classic victory, and the Chicago Blackhawks winning the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals after their loss in the 2009 Winter Classic. The Boston Bruins, winners of the 2010 Winter Classic, later won the 2011 Stanley Cup.

  Though I’m not willing to put my money on either of these teams for a sure-shot championship this year, it is entirely possible that one of them winds up winning the East. The stage has been set.

- Kendall Grubbs