Flyers Vs. Bruins At Fenway Park Finalized

Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League

Jun 24, 10:05 AM | Hype this story!

The NHL is considering having two Winter Classic outdoor games during the 2009-10 season. One is now confirmed, according to a Pennsylvania newspaper.

Delaware Count Daily Times writer Anthony SanFilippo is reporting the Philadelphia Flyers — not the Washington Capitals as previously rumored — will travel north to play the Boston Bruins in the third annual Winter Classic.

Per SanFilippo, the NHL wanted Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals to continue the trend of marketing young, exciting teams. But NBC disagreed, citing Washington’s poor television ratings during the playoffs.

Eventually, the two sides agreed that the Flyers, also a young, exciting team, would be an appropriate choice.

But what about a rumored outdoor game between the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to be played at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA?

League officials have said the Flyers’ involvement this year should not hinder them from participating in a Keystone State clash sometime within the next few years.

Comments

  1. TheOneAndOnlySurge

    Jun 24, 10:55 AM

    On one hand this would be awesome. On another hand, I would like the Pens to get a full year without any distractions. Two years ago it was the Outdoor Classic, last year it was the games in Europe and now this year talk about a Keystone State clash. It is great for fans and a marketing standpoint but the players are at a distinct disadvantage. It’s just one more distration in a long season.

  2. bag o' pucks

    Jun 24, 11:16 AM

    Now if the league would just eliminate the lame All-Star weekend, give the rest of the league that week off around New Year’s, and use the Winter Classic as the centerpiece of their marketing they’d be on to something.

  3. Matt Bodenschatz

    Jun 24, 11:32 AM

    @Surge, I was a little vague. The “Keystone Clash” likely wouldn’t happen for a few years. The Flyers didn’t want to sign on for this Winter Classic if it meant they wouldn’t be able to play the Penguins in another down the line. I would think the Penguins will be relatively distraction free this season.

    @Bag, I agree. I’d even go for an outdoor All Star game to be played at the same venue as the Winter Classic. But that may end up being overkill.

  4. Pens1967

    Jun 24, 11:55 AM

    I think having two “winter classics” would be overkill. The thing that made the games so neat is that they happened so rarely.

    As for 2010, don’t forget this coming February is the winter olympics and there will be a break as NHL players compete for their native countries.

  5. Ivan

    Jun 24, 10:01 PM

    The second Winter Classic would be a matchup of only Canadian teams, in Canada, and the NHL would market the American matchup in the States and the Canadian matchup to Canada…

    NBC would probably only broadcast one game and Versus would pick up the other, while CBC of course would show both games.

    I don’t see a problem at all with that. In fact, it’s pretty smart. It makes sense for the league to continue to hold “THE” Winter Classic on January 1st in the US between 2 American teams, and have another game in Canada that they can promote north of the border.

  6. Mike Wilson

    Jun 25, 02:02 PM

    Also, a little fun fact: the team that has won the Winter Classic has gone on to lose the Stanley Cup both years of its existence. If there are two Winter Classics, who loses the Cup?

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