Stadium Series: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

When NHL COO John Collins was brought into the fold in 2008, he had a reputation as one of the leading marketing minds in North America. His savvy and bold ideas were thought to help the NHL get back on it's feet and take advantage of a changing game in the post-lockout era. During his tenure he's accomplished much more than that, exceeding expectations and helping lead the NHL to record revenues. But one of his greatest innovations was the re-introduction and re-branding of the Heritage Classic as the Winter Classic. Each year on New Year's Day, the Winter Classic has been must-watch television, garnering a national audience and more buzz than the NHL could ever dream of. The fans loved it, the NHL was ecstatic, and it became an annual tradition instantly. Truly, a Classic.

However the news exploded this evening that the NHL was planning to radically change the format next season, introducing multiple outdoor games, in multiple locations. Have a look at this rumored schedule:

Right away there was an uproar on social media, and it was largely negative. Could this be too much of a good thing? The NHL has to be very careful here. Too many outdoor games runs the risk of taking away the magic which made the Winter Classic such a special event. These events are not easy to setup either, the logistics and work involved with organizing not one but six outdoor games is staggering. One assumes that Collins and co. know what they are doing, and it's clear the Gary Bettman has put all his faith in this man to get the job done.

I'm not opposed to the idea of additional outdoor games, but this rumored schedule has me concerned. Firstly, there is so much build up to the Winter Classic, and I don't see how that's feasible with games back to back. Will anyone seriously be interested in watching the Rangers play the Devils after just seeing an outdoor game the day before, and with another coming later in the week? Then there's the question of naming, they can't all be the Winter Classic. The California Classic just doesn't have the same ring to it. Also, has anyone seen Vancouver in March, how can they justify an outdoor game then? I just don't see the logic in scheduling them this way, and I honestly hope these aren't the final dates. There's just too many questions and too much doubt about how this will work.

One thing is clear though, the NHL is bullish and intends to go through with their plans to have more and more outdoor games. Collins has bought the NHL great success and the legitimacy that Bettman has been craving so badly. It will be interesting to see though whether they can pull it off or not. And if they fail, whether they'll actually realize it.

Thanks for reading, please comment and share if you like the content here at WAAP. I'll be back tomorrow with new posts, another look at the key matchups of the night, and some more fun gifs of course!