2023 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, Bruins opponent not announced
Panthers to host 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend; Hurricanes to play outdoors in NHL Stadium Series
The Boston Bruins will host the 2023 event at the home of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday at 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.
A date for this Winter Classic, usually played Jan. 1, was not announced, nor was the opponent.
Commissioner Bettman also announced the Florida Panthers will host 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Feb. 3-4, and the Carolina Hurricanes will host the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Feb. 25.
The Winter Classic was played at Fenway Park on Jan. 1, 2010, when the Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime.
"It's been 12 years since we were at Fenway," Commissioner Bettman said. "A lot of money has been put into the building, it's not quite the same ballpark. Boston is obviously a great hockey town. We've now done over 30 outdoor games; if you want to keep doing them you have to go back to some places. It won't look and it won't be the same, NHL chief content officer] Steve Mayer won't allow it, as it was last time. It'll be a new experience in a venue that has been transformed and modernized in some ways. We think it'll be a great event. You'll have to speculate on who the opponent will be."
***[RELATED: [NHL Global Series returning next season]*
Panthers chief commercial officer Shawn Thornton was a Bruins forward at the 2010 Winter Classic and called it one of his best hockey memories, along with winning the Stanley Cup twice as a player (2007 Anaheim Ducks, 2011 Bruins).
"Walking out of the [Red Sox] clubhouse following Bobby Orr out onto the ice, one of the greatest memories I'll ever have," Thornton said. "It's such an iconic venue. It's got such great history. When you're able to play there and embrace it, it's awesome. I loved it. And now Steve is doing a really good job of pushing the envelope and making sure they're doing bigger and better things."
Boston will be playing its fifth NHL outdoor game and fourth Winter Classic. The 2023 Winter Classic is the 15th anniversary of the outdoor game, first played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Jan. 1, 2008. It will be the 36th outdoor NHL game since 2003.
NHL All-Star Weekend will return to South Florida, with the Panthers previously hosting in 2003. All-Star Weekend includes the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills on Feb. 3 and the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 4.
Florida was selected to host the 2021 All-Star Weekend but that was canceled because of the late finish to the 2019-20 season and delayed start of the shortened 2020-21 season, each due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
"We were excited when we announced a couple years ago," Thornton said. "With COVID we ran into some logistical complications with hotel rooms and availability. The NHL was coming to Vegas this year, so we said push ours to next year for all parties to really be able to plan and get into the community too. We don't want to just host an All-Star Game, we want to make this an event for all of South Florida."
The 2023 Stadium Series will be the Hurricanes' first outdoor game, making them the 28th NHL team to play an outdoor game. Their opponent was not announced.
Carolina was supposed to host the Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium in 2021, but that was canceled because of the pandemic.
"You're going to expose the game of hockey to a lot of people that may not be familiar with the game," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. "People like big events. Having a big event here, at a stadium with 55,000-plus seats, you're going to have your hockey fans, but you're going to get a lot of people that haven't experienced it too. I think this is where the win-win comes in for all of us.
"There's not going to be a bad seat. I've spent a lot of time over there. If you're on the sidelines, 20 feet behind you are the seats. There's not a big runway. It's going to allow people to be a lot closer to the game than the other venues."
Commissioner Bettman also announced the return of the NHL Global Series next season, with preseason and regular-season games to be played in four countries in Europe. Preseason games will be played in Switzerland and Germany, and regular-season games will be played in Finland and the Czech Republic.
The teams, dates and cities for the international games were not announced. The NHL has not played a game outside of North America since 2019.
The Bruins and Nashville Predators were supposed to play in the 2020 NHL Global Series, with preseason games in Mannheim, Germany, and Bern, Switzerland, and regular-season games in Prague, Czech Republic, but they were canceled because of the delayed start to the 2020-21 season.
The NHL played preseason and regular-season games in Europe from 2007-11 (NHL Premiere) and 2017-19 (NHL Global Series).
