From Elliotte Friedman at CBC:
Philadelphia has a shot at next year’s Winter Classic, either at Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles) or Beaver Stadium (home of Joe Paterno and Penn State football). Canadian version: Montreal really wants it, and will get it at some point. Appears only other possibility is Vancouver, and it would be interesting to involve BC Place’s new retractable roof.
By the way, if you’re not reading his weekly “30 thoughts” column, you’re missing out. We heard this sort of scuttlebutt back in January after the 2011 Winter Classic was held in Pittsburgh. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reported then that Lincoln Financial Field was the front-runner.
Gary Bettman and the league continue to say that there are no plans in the works on the Winter Classic or the Heritage Classic next year. Still, who believes that? It’s the NHL’s marquee event and they’d be a horrible organization if they weren’t already thinking about the outdoor games for next season. Believe it or not, the NHL isn’t a horrible organization.
So, let’s talk about the possibility since it has been reported twice now. Friedman throws the Beaver Stadium possibility back into the mix, but honestly, I’d only accept a game out in State College if the Flyers were playing the Penguins. I don’t want to see that venue wasted on a game between the Flyers and the Rangers or something like that. Then again, I wouldn’t be shocked if the NHL put the Penguins in the game two years in a row.
Still, Lincoln Financial Field seems like a better bet right now. I could see the Flyers hosting a team like the Rangers, who haven’t participated in an outdoor game yet, at the Linc — and that would be fantastic.
I do think that other teams are deserving of the game before the Flyers get another one. And there are certainly more teams that should get one before the Penguins get a third outdoor game. That’s not to say I wouldn’t be excited if the Flyers were involved in the game next season, complete with HBO 24/7 and everything.
