Ice hockey game
The
NHL Heritage Classic
(
French
:
La Classique Heritage de la LNH
) is one of the series of
regular season outdoor games
played in the
National Hockey League
(NHL) that is held in football stadiums based in Canada. Unlike the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the
NHL Winter Classic
and the
NHL Stadium Series
, the Heritage Classic has been held infrequently: only seven games have been played in the series so far, and the first five match-ups were exclusively between Canadian teams.
The
inaugural Heritage Classic
, hosted by the
Edmonton
Oilers
at
Commonwealth Stadium
in 2003, was the first outdoor regular season game in NHL history and its success served as the precursor to outdoor hockey games
played around the world
. The
second Heritage Classic
, played at
McMahon Stadium
in
Calgary
in 2011, set sponsorship and revenue records.
[2]
The
third Heritage Classic
was hosted in
Vancouver
's
BC Place
stadium in 2014. The
fourth game
was hosted by
Winnipeg
at Investors Group Field, now known as
IG Field
,
[3]
in October 2016.
[4]
The
fifth game
was held on October 26, 2019, at
Mosaic Stadium
in
Regina, Saskatchewan
.
The
sixth Heritage Classic
for 2022 was played at
Tim Hortons Field
in
Hamilton, Ontario
. The
Toronto Maple Leafs
made their first Heritage Classic appearance (they were the only Canadian team who had yet to play in a Heritage Classic, although they had appeared in a Winter Classic, the Centennial Classic and in one Stadium Series game), and played against the
Buffalo Sabres
, the first U.S. team appearing in a Heritage Classic.
[5]
The
seventh Heritage Classic
was hosted by the Oilers for the 2nd time, with their opponent being the Calgary Flames in the first outdoor hockey
Battle of Alberta
.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
The
first Heritage Classic
was played in 2003 and hosted by the
Edmonton Oilers
. The first regular season outdoor game in NHL history, it was held at
Commonwealth Stadium
between the Oilers and the
Montreal Canadiens
.
[7]
The Oilers had suggested the idea of hosting an
outdoor game
as early as the mid 1980s,
[8]
but the genesis of the 2003 event was the "
Cold War
" outdoor game played two years prior between
Michigan State University
and the
University of Michigan
.
[9]
Demand for tickets to the game was unprecedented in the history of Edmonton sports events.
[9]
After sales to Edmonton's season ticket holders and league sponsors, the Oilers held a lottery for the remaining 7,000 seats that awarded 1,750 persons the opportunity to purchase four tickets each. The team received over 750,000 entries from around the world.
[10]
The game attracted a crowd of 57,167 that set an NHL single-game attendance record that more than doubled the previous mark.
[11]
The event featured an alumni game between past greats of the Canadiens and Oilers, including
Wayne Gretzky
and
Guy Lafleur
.
[12]
The game itself was played at a temperature of ?19 °C (?2 °F); the Canadiens defeated the Oilers by a score of 4?3.
[11]
Fireworks at the end of the
2011 Heritage Classic
. The event was revived in 2011 as a Canadian equivalent to the Winter Classic.
The success of the Heritage Classic led to the
2008 Winter Classic
, which was played in Buffalo between the
Buffalo Sabres
and
Pittsburgh Penguins
.
[13]
A new league record crowd of 71,217 watched the Penguins defeat the Sabres in a game that quickly became the NHL's showcase event.
[14]
The
Winter Classic
became an annual event but focused on American teams. Faced with increasing criticism at the lack of Canadian participation in the Winter Classic, the NHL revived the Heritage Classic in 2011 and pitted the Canadiens against the host
Calgary Flames
.
[15]
It marked the first time the NHL held two outdoor games in the same season, a decision that some commentators, including
ESPN
's Scott Burnside, argued would dilute the spectacle of the Winter Classic.
[16]
Like the Edmonton game, the
2011 Heritage Classic
was a success, as the Flames defeated Montreal 4?0 in front of 41,022 fans at
McMahon Stadium
.
[17]
The game achieved high television ratings in both Canada and the United States and, due to record sponsorship,
grossed the highest revenue for a single event in NHL history.
[2]
The
third Heritage Classic
was played at
BC Place
in
Vancouver
in 2014 between the
Vancouver Canucks
and
Ottawa Senators
. It was part of a six-game outdoor set during the
2013?14 NHL season
that included the
2014 Winter Classic
and the four-game
Stadium Series
.
[18]
The
Winnipeg Jets
played host to the Oilers in the
fourth Heritage Classic
on October 23, 2016, at
Investors Group Field
, during the
2016?17 NHL season
.
The
2019 Heritage Classic
was hosted in
Mosaic Stadium
, the first time it has been hosted outside the locale the participating teams are based in
The
fifth Heritage Classic
was played on October 26, 2019, during the
2019?20 NHL season
, with the Jets and the Flames at
Mosaic Stadium
in
Regina, Saskatchewan
, a neutral site roughly between Winnipeg and Calgary.
[19]
On September 16, 2021, the league announced that a
sixth Heritage Classic
would be played on March 13, 2022, between the
Toronto Maple Leafs
and the
Buffalo Sabres
at
Tim Hortons Field
in
Hamilton, Ontario
.
[5]
The Sabres won 5-2.
On January 1, 2023, the NHL announced that Commonwealth Stadium would return as host of the Heritage Classic in
2023
, this time showcasing the
Battle of Alberta
between the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers.
[20]
The Oilers would come away with a 5-2 victory over the Flames.
List of games
[
edit
]
Bolded teams denote winners
Year
|
Season
|
Date
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Primary team at venue
|
Away team
|
Score
|
Home team
|
Attendance
|
Ref
|
2003
|
2003?04
|
November 22
|
Edmonton
, Alberta
|
Commonwealth Stadium
|
Edmonton Eskimos
|
Montreal Canadiens
|
4?3
|
Edmonton Oilers
|
57,167
|
[11]
|
2011
|
2010?11
|
February 20
|
Calgary
, Alberta
|
McMahon Stadium
|
Calgary Stampeders
|
Montreal Canadiens
|
0?4
|
Calgary Flames
|
41,022
|
[17]
|
2014
|
2013?14
|
March 2
|
Vancouver
, British Columbia
|
BC Place
|
BC Lions
|
Ottawa Senators
|
4?2
|
Vancouver Canucks
|
54,194
|
[18]
|
2016
|
2016?17
|
October 23
|
Winnipeg
, Manitoba
|
Investors Group Field
|
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
|
Edmonton Oilers
|
3?0
|
Winnipeg Jets
|
33,240
|
|
2019
|
2019?20
|
October 26
|
Regina, Saskatchewan
|
Mosaic Stadium
|
Saskatchewan Roughriders
|
Calgary Flames
|
1?2
|
Winnipeg Jets
|
33,518
|
|
2022
|
2021?22
|
March 13
|
Hamilton, Ontario
|
Tim Hortons Field
|
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
|
Toronto Maple Leafs
|
2?5
|
Buffalo Sabres
|
26,119
|
[5]
|
2023
|
2023?24
|
October 29
|
Edmonton
, Alberta
|
Commonwealth Stadium
|
Edmonton Elks
|
Calgary Flames
|
2?5
|
Edmonton Oilers
|
55,411
|
[20]
|
Winning and losing teams
[
edit
]
Broadcasters
[
edit
]
CBC
's
Hockey Night in Canada
broadcast the 2003, 2011, 2014 and 2019 games. In the first three editions,
CBC Sports
solely produced the games, then in 2019,
Sportsnet
not only took over production, but also simulcast the game on their networks. In 2016, 2022 and 2023, the games were aired only on Sportsnet.
In the United States, the first Heritage Classic was not broadcast to then-rightsholders
ESPN
/
ABC
due to its prior commitments with
college football
. Instead, the game was aired to American audiences on
NHL Center Ice
via the CBC feed. In 2011, 2014 and 2019,
Versus
/
NBCSN
would air the Heritage Classic, with the network providing their own broadcast crews for the first two games, and the last game featuring a simulcast from Sportsnet. In 2016,
NHL Network
simulcast Sportsnet's broadcast of the Heritage Classic. Then in 2022,
TNT
aired the Heritage Classic with their own broadcast crews, as the game featured an American team for the first time. In 2023, TNT's sister channel
TBS
aired the 2023 Heritage Classic, marking the first NHL regular season game broadcast by the network.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Francis, Eric (February 28, 2011).
"Heritage Classic success sparks talk of five NHL outdoor games a season"
. QMI Agency
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Dacey, Elisha (May 10, 2019).
"Investors Group Field changing name to IG Field"
.
Global News
.
Archived
from the original on May 14, 2019
. Retrieved
June 1,
2019
.
- ^
"Jets to host 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic"
.
NHL.com
. March 6, 2016
. Retrieved
March 7,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Maple Leafs, Sabres to play in 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic"
.
NHL.com
. September 16, 2021
. Retrieved
September 16,
2021
.
- ^
"2023 Heritage Classic will be a Battle of Alberta between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers"
.
FlamesNation
. Retrieved
December 11,
2022
.
- ^
Cohen, Tom (November 21, 2003).
"Old-time hockey as Oilers, Canadians play in first outdoor NHL game"
.
Associated Press
. Archived from
the original
on June 10, 2014
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Dolezar, Jon A. (November 14, 2003).
"The great outdoors"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"It's Nice Outside?Oilers Stage Heritage Classic"
. Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. Archived from
the original
on February 6, 2012
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Allen, Kevin (November 19, 2003).
"Backyard memories revived for a night"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
Dolezar, Jon A (November 23, 2003).
"Instant classic"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Snow, Chris (November 22, 2003).
"History heads outdoors; Alumni game part of festivities for stadium duel"
.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2015
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Pinchevsky, Tal (November 17, 2013).
"Sunday Long Read: '03 Heritage Classic starts boom"
.
National Hockey League
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
"NHL, Penguins winners in Winter Classic"
. Associated Press. January 2, 2008. Archived from
the original
on April 2, 2015
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
Johnson, George (February 13, 2011). "Taking it outside".
Calgary Herald
. p. F6.
- ^
Burnside, Scott (December 30, 2010).
"Put Heritage Classic back on shelf"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
February 13,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Wharnsby, Tim (February 20, 2011).
"Flames blank Canadiens in NHL Heritage Classic"
.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Gary Bettman says 6 outdoor NHL games is what fans want"
. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 8, 2013
. Retrieved
November 19,
2013
.
- ^
"Bettman announces that Regina will host 2019 Heritage Classic"
.
Regina Leader-Post
. January 1, 2019
. Retrieved
January 1,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Oilers to host Flames in 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic"
.
NHL.com
. December 31, 2022
. Retrieved
December 31,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
NHL Heritage Classic
at Wikimedia Commons
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