LAS VEGAS — The NHL is headed back to Fenway Park for the 2023 Winter Classic.
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Friday that the Boston Bruins will host the Jan. 1 outdoor game. Fenway Park previously hosted the Winter Classic in 2010, when the Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in overtime.
Boston’s opponent has yet to be determined. However, there is heavy speculation it will be the Pittsburgh Penguins given that the Fenway Sports Group now owns both Fenway Park and the team, with that sale approved by the NHL in Dec. 2021.
“It’s been 12 years since we went to Fenway. A lot of money has been put into the building. It’s not quite the same ballpark. Boston is obviously a great hockey town,” said Bettman.
It’s the first time the NHL has reused a venue for an outdoor game. Bettman said that was naturally going to happen, given how many outdoor events the NHL has held since the first Winter Classic in 2008.
“We’ve now done over 30 outdoor games,” he said.
The first Fenway Park Winter Classic was the third edition of the event, which has evolved aesthetically through the years under the stewardship of NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer. He was not with the League for the first Fenway Classic.
The return visit to Fenway could include a reorienting of the rink from the 2010 game, as well as some innovative use of the Green Monster.
The NHL also announced that the Carolina Hurricanes will host a Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. It will be the first regular-season outdoor game for the Hurricanes, who will become the 28th NHL team to participate in a regular-season outdoor game.
The game is scheduled for 2023. It was originally scheduled for the 2021-22 season, but the Hurricanes and the NHL came to a “mutual agreement” that it should be postponed due to safety concerns for fans.
In indoor hockey news, the NHL will bring its All-Star Weekend to South Florida in 2023, where the Florida Panthers will play host at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The All-Star skills competition is scheduled for Feb. 3 and the All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 4. The Panthers previously hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 2003.
Finally, the NHL announced it will bring back its international hockey Global Series for the 2022-23 season. The NHL will hold preseason games in Switzerland and Germany, and regular-season games in Finland and the Czech Republic.
“It’s a no-brainer,” said deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “We had established momentum in terms of having a greater and more regular presence with games in Europe. With the pandemic waning, and hopefully with a return to normalcy, it only makes sense to restart those efforts and further them.”
The NHL has not played a game outside of North America since Nov. 2019.
Source: www.espn.com