Will Bundesliga stadiums host the NHL Winter Classic in the future? A report by Sportsnet suggests that it might be possible.

After having the worst ratings in the history of the NHL’s Winter Classic, something’s got to change for the NHL.

The Winter Classic has been a long-standing tradition in hockey, but the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field will be the first time the game is set to be played on New Year’s Eve.

The NHL may have saturated the market on outdoor games. With a one-to-two other games played outdoors each year in the NHL Stadium Series — in addition to the trends in broadcast television viewership, the Winter Classic has seen a steady decline over the past ten seasons.

The New Year’s Eve matchup drew fewer than one million viewers. The post NHL Shouldn’t Panic About Worst-Ever Winter Classic Ratings appeared first on Front Office Sports.

But of the 41 outdoor games the NHL has put on since the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton, the ones NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer — the mad scientist behind the games — gets asked about are the ones nobody could attend: Golden Knights – Avalanche and Flyers -Bruins at Lake Tahoe during the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2021.

This year's NHL Winter Classic was an absolute dud, recycling two teams (the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues) that have already played in multiple outdoor games in a venue (Wrigley Field) that has already been used.

Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks was the 15th edition of the annual outdoor game held by the NHL. While the event is always a joyous occasion for the host city, the game between the Blues and Blackhawks caught the fewest number of eyes in its history.