Next year's Bridgestone Winter Classic will be the 23rd outdoor hockey game for the NHL. There are still teams that haven't played in one.
We won't belabor the point and make this about the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are among those teams yet to play outside, but the proof is in the pudding. The NHL announced during the first intermission of Game 6 between the Rangers and Senators that the 2018 Winter Classic will be played at Citi Field - home of the New York Mets - between the Rangers and Sabres.
Hey @NYRangers, @BuffaloSabres, let's take this thing outside!
— Citi Field (@CitiField) May 10, 2017
We're hosting the @NHL #WinterClassic on Jan. 1, 2018. pic.twitter.com/lQpnZIM3DX
The Rangers have been here before. The Sabres have been here before. It's time for the NHL to step outside its comfort zone (but hey, the Chicago Blackhawks aren't playing in this one, so that's a start) and give the remaining teams a chance.
You mean to tell us the Nashville Predators wouldn't be a blast to watch in a Winter Classic?
