2011 Winter Classic: Capitals @ Penguins

via here

Per NHL.com, Twitter, Facebook, the media,...the worst kept secret in recent memory.

Penguins. Capitals. Heinz Field (the home of the Steelers). The 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic. January 1, 2011, on NBC.

For non-season ticket holders, you can get tickets via public lottery in the coming months. The Capitals and Penguins will offer chances for season ticket holders to purchase tickets soon.


Commissioner Gary Bettman also said that Washington will host a Winter Classic within two or three more years, meaning yours truly will be in America and be able to go.

I wonder if the Capitals will sport a third jersey for the game or simply wear a current jersey or go back to the black/white or blue/white eagle jerseys.

At any rate, naysayers will cite unfairness at the fact that Pittsburgh will have played in two of the first four Winter Classics. However, the point of the Classic isn't to be fair. It's to generate revenue and interest in hockey and for hockey. With the NHL's television contracts with Versus and NBC expiring after next season, it looks like the NHL is going for the "home run" (or "hail mary"?) in order to make their package as expensive as possible or as attractive as possible to Versus, NBC, and even ESPN, ABC, and FOX.

Just for fun, each of the last three years one Stanley Cup finalist has played in the Winter Classic.



I can't believe I took this long to get around to making a "Search Story."