The Winter Classic has become a key event on the NHL calendar as something which the teams, media and fans alike all look forward to, ever since it began in 2008 at Orchard Park in New York between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. Not that the Vancouver Canucks and their supporters would know too much about this.
This season's Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, will take place on Dec. 31 Wrigley Field in Chicago. It will be the 16th edition of the event, and to date, the Canucks have yet to be play in the annual outdoor tradition.
In comparison to the Canucks, the Blackhawks will be appearing in the Winter Classic for the fifth time, which is the most ever by an NHL team. The Blues will be making their third appearance, while the Boston Bruins are second all-time with four such appearances in the annual event.
Canucks shouldn't feel hard done by
In fairness to the Canucks though, this is not a case of being singled out and just not being included, with the Winter Classic confined to being hosted in the United States. Along these lines, the Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have also never played in the outdoor event.
There are a couple of exceptions, in the form of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, who are in Canada's two biggest markets, albeit they have both played on the road. The Leafs faced the Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium in 2014 and lost 3-2 after a shootout, while the Canadiens played the Bruins at Gillette Stadium two years later and dominated in a 5-1 win.
In total, 16 NHL teams have yet to appear in the Winter Classic. The other 11 teams include the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Hockey Club (who also didn't play in the Winter Classic while they were based in Arizona).
Getting the outdoor experience elsewhere
Even though the Canucks have yet to receive any love when it comes to the Winter Classic, this doesn't mean they've missed out on the NHL outdoor festivities full stop. More specifically, we're talking about the Heritage Classic.
While not played annually like the Winter Classic, there have been seven NHL Heritage Classics to date, with the first one taking place in Edmonton back in 2003. The Oilers lost 4-3 to the Canadiens in front of a record Heritage Classic crowd of 57,167 at Commonwealth Stadium.
All seven Canadian NHL teams have played in the Heritage Classic, along with the Sabres in 2022 when the game was played in Hamilton, with them beating the Leafs 5-2. The Oilers and Flames have the most appearances in the event to date, with three apiece.
As for the Canucks, they have appeared in the Heritage Classic just once, but at least they hosted it in Vancouver at BC Place before a crowd of 54,194, on Mar. 2 in 2014. Not that it was a positive outcome, as they went on to lose 4-2 to the Senators, who were similarly making their only appearance to date.
Going back to the Winter Classic, it would of course be great for the Canucks and their fans, if they got to play at some point in one of the marquee events which the NHL has to offer. However, it will have to be on the road, and don't expect it to happen anytime soon.