Next Year’s Winter Classic: Toronto vs Detroit
It looks like next year’s Winter Classic will be Toront vs Detroit at The Big House…
It’s all but confirmed by the NHL at this point, but it’s becoming pretty clear that the Maple Leafs will travel to the University of Michigan’s Big House for a game against the Red Wings, a venue that has hosted outdoor hockey before. It will be configured for 115,000 fans.
This would be the first time two teams from different conferences would meet in the yearly outdoor game (if you don’t count the Hertiage Classic), and also the first time we’d see a Canadian team in the made-for-NBC event.
Obviously nothing is going to be outright confirmed until the ink is dry on the contracts, but there’s no mention of other teams or venues. Being in the Winter Classic, fans of both teams get a couple other perks, like an alumni game (can’t imagine how loud the reception from Leafs fans would be for Mats Sundin, Wendel Clark and Dougie Gilmour), and the privilege of being on HBO’s 24/7 (assuming HBO has interest in following these two teams). The NHL will approve the matchup with their major partners before announcing it, so it bodes well for the show to carry on for another season. On the other hand, these teams only play each other a couple times a year and the Leafs haven’t seen the Red Wings in playoffs since 1993. Either way, it should be one hell of a game.