Ruining A Classic

The 2008 NHL Winter Classic was one of those events we'll always remember. The novelty of an outdoor game, the snow falling, the almost-too-perfect ending with Sidney Crosby scoring in the shootout. The 2009 NHL Winter Classic was no less entertaining, with a resurgent Blackhawks team and the defending champion Red Wings taking over Wrigley Field. The 2009 game showed that the Winter Classic was a sustainable commodity, something that could get the casual sports fan to take an interest in the NHL. Most true hockey fans, though, had the same thought - as great as the Winter Classic is now, if there's a way for the NHL to screw it up, they will certainly do so.

Fast forward to this year. The debate over who would play in the 2010 Winter Classic was red-hot, which is usually a great sign. Hockey fans had high expectations for the third installment of this event, and with good reason. So when the NHL announced that the Boston Bruins would be playing the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park, many were a bit underwhelmed. Sure, Fenway Park is an iconic venue, but Bruins vs. Flyers?

Many have pointed to the Flyers' sorry start to this season - 38 points in 38 games, 13th in the East - as proof that the NHL screwed this one up. My thought is that the NHL didn't screw anything up. Instead, NBC stepped in and got who they wanted - as in, who they thought would pop the best rating. The far more appealing Bruins-Canadiens matchup was shelved, and instead we get Bruins-Flyers, a matchup of two teams who have no rivalry whatsoever and combined to win exactly one playoff series last year.

A Bruins-Canadiens Winter Classic would have done so much to promote the event as a true hockey event. The Montreal Canadiens have one of the richest traditions in all of sports, maybe even more rich than that of the almighty Yankees. Casual fans might not be able to name one player on the Canadiens roster, but they know the team and understand something about the their history. They could come to understand the Canadiens-Bruins rivalry (assuming the NHL and NBC promoted it) and get into this matchup, giving the Canadiens the same respect they'd give to any well-known NHL team. Lastly, and most importantly, including the Canadiens in the Winter Classic would have been a huge bone thrown in the direction of the Canadian teams, who got the ball rolling when it comes to outdoor games and deserves to be part of this event going forward.

Of course, that's when NBC stepped in. I can picture the conversation...

GARY BETTMAN: For the 2010 Winter Classic, I'd like to have the Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens at Fenway Park.

NBC EXECUTIVE: The who?

GARY BETTMAN: The Montreal Canadiens.

NBC EXECUTIVE: What are they, an expansion team?

GARY BETTMAN: No, sir. They've been around for a hundred years. They've won 24 Stanley Cups. They may well be the most famous...

NBC EXECUTIVE: Hold it right there. I don't know what you're talking about with all this Montreal nonsense, but I'm not interested. This is NBC, damn it. We only show games that include the Penguins, Capitals, Rangers, Bruins and Flyers. Hey, Bruins and Flyers, that'd be a great matchup, no?

GARY BETTMAN: Not really.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Well, that's how it's going to be. If you think about it, it doesn't really matter who the Bruins play. ESPN will see that a Boston team is involved and promote the hell out of it, so neither of us will have to do anything.

GARY BETTMAN: Good point. Besides, we don't really care about our Canadian audience anyway.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Then it's settled. It'll be Bruins-Flyers at Fenway, and I'll tell you what. We'll put you in our NFL studio show for Wild Card weekend. We already have 30 analysts on that show, what's one more?

(Both Bettman and the executive laugh uproariously, then roll around in a pile of money.)

OK, so maybe it didn't go exactly like that. But it may as well have. In the mean time, the NHL is already doing everything it can to weaken its "flagship event". (Editor's note: Anytime your "flagship event" isn't your championship game/series, you're in trouble.) Bettman has talked about creating an outdoor game solely for Canada, largely because he knows there's no way in hell NBC is letting a Canadian team anywhere near the Winter Classic. With more than one outdoor game in any given year, the NHL seriously risks ruining the uniqueness of the Winter Classic. It might be running against crappy college football games, but the viewing audience still needs something new and fresh to watch.

Sadly, NBC doesn't do "new and fresh". NBC does "whatever will get us the highest TV ratings possible". So, while the 2010 Winter Classic might be about the Bruins and Flyers on paper, it's a bit different to diehard hockey fans. Years from now, we may look back at the 2010 Winter Classic as the year the Winter Classic changed from a hockey event to a TV event - the year the NHL gave its huge showcase event to NBC in the name of ratings and advertising dollars. You know what the worst part is? The only thing that's surprising is that it took this long.