A Tuesday report suggests that we may know the location, as well as the identity of the combatants, in the NHL's 2017 version of the Bridgestone Winter Classic. According to Howard Berger of Sportsnet-590, the Toronto Maple Leafs and BMO field will host and the New York Rangers will be the visiting team.
"Nothing has been confirmed, but a source with many years of connection to the National Hockey League tells me that BMO Field, on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition, is likely to host the event on Jan. 2, 2017 as part of the Maple Leafs' 100th anniversary season," Berger wrote Monday.
When the Leafs squared off with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2014 Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke told Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that playing host to the NHL's annual outdoor extravaganza is something the Leafs were, and presumably remain, keenly interested in.
"I think if the league liked that idea we can 100 per cent get a deal done with the various government agencies and then do the renovation so we'd be ready," Leiweke said at the time, per Johnston. "A lot of it will be what the league wants. If they came to us and said 'We want to shoot for that,' we'd be ready for that."
As Berger notes, there are questions as to the seating in BMO and whether or not it would be able to hold the massive crowds likely to attend an outdoor NHL game there. Rogers Centre seems a possibility for a Winter Classic venue as well, though a report from Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun from Jan. suggests that there are far too many as-of-yet unresolved financial and technical issues at this point for the league to consider it seriously. But with the 2016 CFL Grey Cup expected to be played at BMO, plans have already been put into motion that should prove to the NHL that the venue can easily play host to a Winter Classic game.
"The stadium currently holds 30,991 seats," writes Berger. "At least 10,000 more will be added to the end zones and corner spaces for the Grey Cup game (Nov. 27, 2016). The portable stands would simply remain in place for the NHL outdoor clash just more than a month later."
Johnstson indicated in early 2014 that Toronto was already considered to be "in line" to land a "signature outdoor game" should BMO's capacity be increased. And while the league seemingly hasn't made decisions as to who will host the game based on overall capacity - when the Leafs played the Red Wings in Ann Arbor, the crowd was 105,491, but when the Caps hosted last season, it was just 42,832 - upping the overall attendance numbers would probably serve BMO and the team well.
Giving the game to Toronto and the Maple Leafs during their 100th season does seem a fitting choice, especially since the league afforded the Montreal Canadiens the same opportunity for their centennial celebration, but that doesn't mean it'll come to pass. Still, it sounds as though the city and their beloved Leafs have a good chance of landing what is quickly becoming one of the NHL season's most enjoyable traditions.
