The NHL primarily uses three brands for outdoor games: theHeritage Classic,Winter Classic, andStadium Series. The2003 Heritage Classic between theEdmonton Oilers andMontreal Canadiens was the first outdoor regular season game in NHL history. The Heritage Classic has since been held infrequently in football stadiums in Canada, featuring match-ups solely between Canadian teams, until theBuffalo Sabres made their appearance in the2022 Heritage Classic. The annual Winter Classic, held on or around New Year's Day in football or baseball stadiums near NHL home markets in the United States, began with the2008 game between thePittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. The NHL then started the Stadium Series in 2014 for additional outdoor games in the United States. The number of Stadium Series games has varied per season (four in 2014, only one in 2015, two in 2016, and one per season since 2017). Both the Winter Classic and the Stadium series featured match-ups solely between American teams until theToronto Maple Leafs' appearances in both the2014 Winter Classic and the2018 Stadium Series.
To celebrate the NHL's 100 year anniversary in 2017, the league scheduled two special outdoor games: theNHL Centennial Classic between Detroit and Toronto on January 1 (through season 2016–2017) to kick off the year, and then theNHL 100 Classic on December 16 (during 2017–2018 season) between Montreal and theOttawa Senators to commemoratethe league's first game, having taken place exactly 100 years before, between the same contenders. The four teams involved in said honorific matches constitute three of the league'sOriginal Six members. Then in 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the league held theNHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, two outdoor games playedwithout spectators.
Prior to 2003, NHL teams had been involved in at least three outdoor exhibitions. Two of these came in the 1950s and were effectively informal scrimmages; in 1954, theDetroit Red Wings visitedMarquette Branch Prison and played a match against the prison inmates in a fenced-off, open air ice rink, while in 1956, theBoston Bruins played a game against several local teams inBay Roberts, Newfoundland. In neither case was a formal game structure maintained or score kept, as the NHL teams hopelessly outmatched the hosts. In 1991, theLos Angeles Kings andNew York Rangersplayed a pre-season game outsideCaesars Palace in Las Vegas, in the first officially sanctioned outdoor NHL contest.
The NHL's outdoor series have proven wildly popular with fans and have led to numerous attendance records. The 2003 Heritage Classic drew 57,167 fans, a league record that stood until 71,217 fans in Buffalo set another NHL record in the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008. The 2014 Winter Classic, between Toronto and theDetroit Red Wings drew 105,491 fans, the current NHL record.
The first outdoor game on record to feature an NHL team was attempted on February 2, 1954.[1] TheDetroit Red Wings played an exhibition game on an outdoor ice surface, in 21 °F (−6 °C) degree weather, against the Marquette Pirates, anathletic club composed of inmates atMichigan'sMarquette Branch Prison. The game, and the Pirates club, was allegedly organized as a way for Red Wings managerJack Adams to make good with two convictedmafia members incarcerated at the prison. By the end of the first period alone, the Red Wings had amassed an 18–0 score against the prisoners; score keeping was abandoned after that point and the rest of the game effectively became an informal scrimmage.[2]
Two years after the 1954 prison match, theBoston Bruins went on a postseasonbarnstorm of Atlantic Canada in April 1956, which included a stop inBay Roberts,Newfoundland. On April 9, 1956, the Bruins played an exhibition game against teams from the Conception Bay North Hockey League on an outdoor artificial ice surface, under similar rules to those of the 1954 prison match. Four teams each played one period against the Bruins who dominated the game. Only one goal was scored on Terry Sawchuk by the local teams.[3]
During their time at theCivic Arena, thePittsburgh Penguins could have theoretically hosted an outdoor NHL game due to the arena having aretractable roof. (The arena was originally built for thePittsburgh Civic Light Opera, who only stayed at the arena until 1973.) However, the roof was always closed during hockey games with both the Penguins and theirAHL predecessors, thePittsburgh Hornets, whom the Penguins replaced upon the1967 NHL expansion. The roof was permanently closed after 1994 when the Penguins replaced the center scoreboard.[4]
The first outdoor game between two NHL teams (and the first played to completion) was anofficial pre-season match-up on September 27, 1991. The game took place in the parking lot ofCaesars Palace[5] inLas Vegas, and featured theLos Angeles Kings and theNew York Rangers.[6] The process of keeping the ice cool in the desert heat required three times as much coolant as a standard NHL rink.[7] There were few problems despite temperatures that reached 95 °F (35 °C) during the day and a game time temperature of 80 °F (27 °C).[7] During the contestgrasshoppers began to jump onto the ice, where they would freeze or drown in water used to maintain the ice, and by the end of the second period the ice was littered with the bugs.[6] Nearly 14,000 fans watched the Kings defeat the Rangers 5–2.[8] From 1997 to 2016, the Los Angeles Kings returned to Las Vegas to play an annual indoors preseason game as part of theFrozen Fury series. In 2016, Las Vegas obtainedits own NHL franchise and the fury series was moved toSalt Lake City, Utah, before it was canceled altogether due to the arrival of theUtah Mammoth in 2024.
In 2005,NBC Sports Executive VP Jon Miller then pitched the concept an annual outdoor game as a television event to the NHL, "but they didn't find the concept workable."[12] In December 2006, Miller found an ally in then-league Executive VP/Business & Media John Collins, who embraced the idea.[13][14] This led to the inauguralWinter Classic game on January 1, 2008, with thePittsburgh Penguins visiting theBuffalo Sabres atRalph Wilson Stadium.[9]
On May 1, 2013, the NHL announced that theChicago Blackhawks would host thePittsburgh Penguins atSoldier Field inChicago on March 1, 2014, as part of a new series of outdoor games called theNHL Stadium Series.[15] By the end of May 2013, the NHL had scheduled a record six outdoor NHL games for the 2013–14 season: one Winter Classic, one Heritage Classic, and four Stadium Series games.
In scheduling outdoor games in theNew York metropolitan area that feature theNew York Rangers (first occurring during two of the four2014 Stadium Series games, and subsequently the2018 Winter Classic), the team has always been designated as the "away" team. This is to maintain the property tax-exempt status of the Rangers' home arena,Madison Square Garden (MSG). The tax exemption stipulates that it only applies if the Rangers do not "cease playing" home games at MSG, generally interpreted as playing any "home" game outside of MSG.[16][17] By designating the Rangers as the "away" team and Buffalo as the "home" team in the 2018 Winter Classic atCiti Field in New York City, it would save MSG from paying more than $40 million in property taxes.[18]
In 2021, the NHL announced the creation of a two-game series, theNHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, to function as the replacement for the cancelled outdoor games of the 2020–21 season.[29] In view of theCOVID-19 pandemic, fans would not be allowed at the games and instead the games would serve as a made-for-television event intended to simulatepond hockey.[30][better source needed]
The NHL outdoor games have additional weather-related rules, including:[31][32][33]
At the discretion of theNHL Commissioner, a game may be subject to temporary stoppages due to unplayable weather conditions. The period and game format may then be modified to accommodate those conditions.
If there are high winds or other weather conditions that may give the team at one end an unfair advantage, a "hard whistle" will be signaled at the 10:00 minute mark of the third period, and then at the 2:30 minute mark of overtime (if necessary), stopping play immediately and the teams will switch sides.
During shootouts, both teams may choose to defend the same goal.
If a game is stopped permanently once two periods have been played, it can then be declared a completedofficial game. If the score is still tied however, the teams will still hold a shootout, whether at the same outdoor rink or at a different venue at a later date.
The2008 NHL Winter Classic was the first game to use "hard whistle" stoppages during the third period and overtime, and to have the teams defend the same goal during the shootout.[34]
The2011 NHL Winter Classic was delayed from its original 1:00 p.m. start time to 8:00 p.m. due to warm temperatures and rain in the forecast.[35] The start time of the2012 NHL Winter Classic was also delayed two hours due to the sun hitting the ice.[36] Sunlight also adversely affected the ice conditions of the first game of theNHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, causing the start of the second period to be delayed for several hours. The start time of the second Lake Tahoe game was also delayed because of the conditions.[37]
30 of the NHL's 32 teams have participated in an outdoor regular season game. This leaves Florida and Utah as the only teams that have never been selected. (Florida is scheduled to play a game on January 2, 2026.)
18 teams have played more than one game.
Chicago has appeared in 7 outdoor games. This is the most of any team. Their record is 1 win and 6 losses.
22 metropolitan areas (out of 29 represented among the league's 32 teams) have hosted outdoor regulation games. In addition to the six metropolitan areas represented by teams that have not played in any outdoor games, Montreal has played in outdoor games but has yet to host any themselves.
New York City, Massachusetts and Chicago/Northern Indiana have each hosted three games. Maryland–DC, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis-St.Paul and Winnipeg/Eastern Prairies have each hosted twice.
Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Heinz Field, and Commonwealth Stadium will have each hosted two games.
During the 2021NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe when two games were played, Vegas played in the first contest against Colorado. The second game was between Philadelphia and Boston.
TheWinnipeg Jets announced in 2013 that they had reached an agreement with the NHL to host a fourth Heritage Classic atInvestors Group Field, the home of the CFL'sWinnipeg Blue Bombers, which they hoped to hold during the team's fifth anniversary in2015–16.[46] However, a disagreement occurred between the NHL and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the game's exact date: the league wanted it held in December 2015 while the football team became concerned that this date was too close to the103rd Grey Cup being held at the stadium on November 29.[47] In January 2015, the Jets announced that they could not reach an agreement to finalize a date for the Heritage Classic during the 2015–16 season and that they were now looking for a new date during the 2016–17 season.[48] On March 6, 2016, the NHL officially announced that the Jets would host the Oilers in the2016 Heritage Classic during the 2016–17 NHL season, held in October.[24]
For the2020–21 season, the 2021 NHL Winter Classic was originally planned to take place atTarget Field between theSt. Louis Blues and theMinnesota Wild, and theCarolina Hurricanes were scheduled to host a Stadium Series game atCarter–Finley Stadium on February 20, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the conclusion of theprevious season to September and postponing the start of a shortened2020–21 season to January, as well as uncertainty about fan attendance because of local health restrictions, the two events were postponed to 2022 at the earliest; an opponent for the Hurricanes was not yet determined at the time the postponement was made.[49][50] On June 28, 2021, the league confirmed that the Blues and the Wild would play in the 2022 Winter Classic at Target Field, but the Hurricanes asked the league to postpone their outdoor game for another year to at least the 2022–23 season "to assure a safe environment."[51][52] The Hurricanes would become the first warm-climate Eastern Conference team to host an outdoor game.[53]
This table excludes exhibition games with non-NHL opponents (such as those in 1954 and 1956) and pre-season games (such as the one in 1991).
‡ The Rangers were designated as the visiting team for the three games held in New York City to comply with a property tax exemption forMadison Square Garden that requires the Rangers to play all of their home games at the arena.
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