Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
There is great pride in being selected as one of the teams to get to play in the Heritage Classic in Canada. The Vancouver Canucks appear to be getting that honor next season as reports have Vancouver hosting the Ottawa Senators on Mar. 2, 2014 at B.C. Place. It will be the third Heritage Classic game with the last one being in 2011.
The NHL is planning six outdoor games next season overall, but this is going to be the one that fans in Canada want to see the most in all likelihood with two of their own teams getting together. I know that the NHL wants to go outside more often to get back to the roots of the game, but playing six games seems a bit much. I like the idea of just the Winter Classic and then the Heritage Classic. I do have one major worry about the timing of the game. It is early March after all, and the weather may not be cold enough for this to be a real cold-weather game.
We all saw the weather during the Olympics in Vancouver, and it never seemed cold enough for a Winter Olympic Games. That would be my major problem with this idea. I would have loved to have seen the game be played in early February when the weather may have been colder. It isn’t going to matter to the fans though I’m sure, as they will get to see their home team play in an outdoor game for the first time. It will be another exciting time to be in Vancouver.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
