The National Hockey League (NHL) has big plans for its next Winter Classic, which will pit the Vegas Golden Knights against the Kraken in Seattle.
“We'll be a full house again, the city is full of energy right now and everything is just extraordinary,” said NHL commercial director Steve Mayer, whose comments were reported on his club's website.
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“It is great [Classique hivernale]. This is pretty unique considering the two teams involved. I can't wait to be there. I think it will be one of our best ever.”
The Jan. 1 game, which will be played at T-Mobile Park, pits the 31st and 32nd ranked teams from Bettman Circuit against each other. For the Kraken, this will be the first experience in an away game, while the Golden Knights were the players in one of the games played in Lake Tahoe in 2021.
The game will be broadcast on TVA Sports.
“We want to take a look at the history of our new franchises and their importance for our league,” explained Mayer. The beauty of the Kraken and Golden Knights is how established they are. Their supporters are passionate and rabid. They were so successful that they brought hockey to places where there was no hockey before. That says everything you need to know about the NHL.
“When we decided to host this game, we chose a matchup between the last two expansion teams and didn't know that one of them would win the Stanley Cup,” Mayer added. We were lucky. I was with them the day before their opening game [cette année]the whole team was at the Raiders game [de Las Vegas] and the next day their banner of champions was unveiled. And I'm not kidding when I tell you that all they talked about was the outdoor game. They were so excited. Remember, Vegas attended an outdoor game, but there were no fans in Lake Tahoe. So it’s the first time they’ve played in front of an audience.”