NHL hits home run at Wrigley
CHICAGO – If you closed your eyes and put your ear to the ground of the Frozen Confines on Thursday, you could almost hear Ernie Banks saying, "Let's skate two."
The NHL's New Year's Day spectacle at Wrigley Field was just that good.
Like the Winter Classic exactly one year ago in suburban Buffalo, the event left spectators hungry for more, even if the visiting team made it three outdoor triumphs in as many tries after the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4.
Commissioner Gary Bettman didn't waffle this time like he did last year, when he was reluctant to admit that a popular Jan. 1 game the league stumbled upon would become an annual event. He might not know where the next one will be played, but he left little doubt there are more to come.
"I have no idea where we're going next," Bettman said. "We haven't given it any thought. I never like to look ahead. I like to get through these one at a time, debrief, look at what we can improve; I can't think of anything right now."
There's never been a perfect game pitched at the 95-year-old Wrigley Field – major league baseball's second oldest stadium – but it took the NHL just one try to produce one on the corner of Clark and Addison.
From the roaring crowd of 40,818 to the false brick-façade boards, from the blending of Chicago hockey greats Tony Esposito, Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull to Cubs luminaries Ferguson Jenkins, Billy Williams and Ryne Sandberg, from two Original Six rivals – the Blackhawks and Red Wings – to throwback uniforms complete with coaches wearing varsity jackets and one topped with a classy fedora, the event was spectacular in every way.
FIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT WINTER CLASSIC SITES
1. Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers, Yankee Stadium, New York: Whether it's the old stadium, or the new one, the Big Apple is an ideal setting.
2. New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Mich.: This game should happen a day after Michigan State hosts archrival Michigan. Spartan Stadium is no stranger to a big outdoor game, once hosting the successful Cold War in 2001.
3. Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis: The former Minnesota North Stars would be great visitors against the home team at the University of Minnesota's new football stadium.
4. San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings, Las Vegas: The Midwest and East Coast shouldn't monopolize this event. No doubt, the players and fans would enjoy the Sin City setting.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers, Beaver Stadium, State College, Pa.: Enjoy this battle of Pennsylvania, smack dab in the middle of the state.
– Ross McKeon
"It was fantastic," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "You know, the city of Chicago in itself is special. Then Wrigley Field, and they march out all these people who you watched as a kid. The whole atmosphere, the crowd and the professionalism, I think the Chicago Blackhawks are going to set a new standard for the NHL in marketing."
"I think it should absolutely carry on," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "The setting and the stage was the right place to be."
Every outdoor game has been an improvement over the last. The game in Orchard Park, N.Y., won by the Penguins in a shootout over the host Sabres, had better – if not ideal – weather conditions than the inaugural outdoor affair between Montreal and host Edmonton in the frigid cold on Nov. 22, 2003.
The league took a chance last year by playing the game on a day otherwise reserved for college football, and viewers responded in huge numbers. There were challenges with the ice, as the league faced a one-week window to construct the rink, and the game was slower than most would have liked.
On Thursday, the ice was very good, the pace was quick and 10 goals were scored. The fans were closer to the action in Wrigley than they were in Ralph Wilson Stadium. And even if there were 30,000 fewer in the baseball stadium, it still provided a more intimate, exciting feel.
"The favorite part was coming out of the dugout and seeing the crowd, the excitement, people's faces and hearing the crowd noise," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "I think all NHL players should have a chance to play in something like this."
"I think just sitting on the bench and looking at the crowd and the whole atmosphere, it was really unreal," said Blackhawks leading scorer Patrick Kane.
You'd be hard-pressed to find any detractors Thursday. Bettman wouldn't have minded a few snowflakes falling, and Babcock kiddingly suggested "a little more free stuff for the coaches would be nice."
Topping this extravaganza will be a challenge, but one the league will gladly welcome. For all the criticism and bad-mouthing Bettman & Co. have had to endure, this is one idea that has no flaws, no negatives, no shortcomings.
"This event is unique in the way that it takes the game back to its roots," Bettman said. "It's unique in the way players react to it because it's so special to be there on the ice.
"It's unique that families come out with the players and the organizations to skate on practice day. In terms of what this event represents, it's not something you can do every week. It's not something that I think you can do many, many times a year.
"It's something we know can be a special part of our game if we do it right," he said. "And I think that's what it represents."
And on Thursday, what it represented was a home run, hockey style.