Outdoor NHL games are special. From playing in historic stadiums, to having rivals play one another, to cool uniforms being created, and to have players get taken back to their childhood of playing outdoors.
However, the 2025 Winter Classic (despite it being on New Year's Eve and not New Year's Day), will be played tomorrow at Wrigley Field, home of the MLB's Chicago Cubs. The game will feature the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.
The two teams had previously played in the 2017 Winter Classic at Busch Stadium, home of the MLB's St. Louis Cardinals. Wrigley Field previously hosted the 2009 Winter Classic. The Blues had just played in the 2022 Winter Classic, and the Blackhawks will be playing in their seventh outdoor game, which is the most among any NHL team.
Some fans might be tired of seeing the same cities host an outdoor game or the same teams playing outdoors. The Blues are currently 17-17-4 and the Blachawks are the worst team in the NHL this season at 12-23-2. A poor record for both teams for playing in an outdoor game. If there's two teams that the NHL should consider scheduling for an outdoor game, it's the two NHL teams from Ontario, who haven't played outdoors against each other.
Senators and Maple Leafs playing outdoors needs to happen
It's no secret that rivals playing outdoors always offers as an exciting and emotional setting. For the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, these two teams will always have hatred for one another. Every Battle of Ontario game means more, and it's time for the rivalry to be played outdoors at last.
The Senators have played in two outdoor games in the past and won both. In 2014, the Senators won the Heritage Classic against the Vancouver Canucks. In 2017, the Senators won the NHL 100 Classic against the Montreal Canadiens. If the Senators and Maple Leafs were to play outdoors, it would add another all-time moment for the rivalry.
Every outdoor game needs the perfect venue. There's only one place that would be perfect for the Senators and Maple Leafs to play outdoors. Rogers Centre in Toronto, home of the MLB's Toronto Blue Jays.
There's no doubt that Senator fans and Maple Leaf fans will bicker at each other, but the two fan bases will come together and root for the only MLB team in Canada in the province of Ontario. Sure, the game might be a road game for the Senators, but Rogers Centre would truly be the perfect place to host the game. Make a comparison some might ask of fans bickering at each other in Canada or the United States. Take the state of New York.
Fans of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders bicker at one another, and rightfully so. As much as fans from both teams may bicker at one another in New York City, fans of both teams will come together and root for the New York Yankees or New York Mets, or in the NFL with rooting for the New York Giants or New York Jets. When the Rangers and Islanders played each other in the Stadium Series last season, the game was at MetLife Stadium, home to both the Giants and Jets.
Some rivalries haven't had the ability to play outdoors yet. The Battle of Ontario is one of them. If the Blackhawks and Blues can play in another Winter Classic tomorrow, it raises the question of when the Senators and Maple Leafs will play one another outside.