Senators owner hoping for Ottawa outdoor game

OTTAWA -- Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said Friday he is confident the Senators will play the Montreal Canadiens in an outdoor game at TD Place Stadium on Dec. 17, 2017, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first games in NHL history.
Melnyk met Friday with representatives of Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), which controls the 24,000-seat football stadium, the home of the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League. He said while a deal still has to be finalized between OSEG, the League and the city of Ottawa, he's optimistic that the game, which will be two days before the 100th anniversary of the NHL's first games, will take place.

Melnyk's original idea was to play on Parliament Hill, home of Canada's federal government and an Ottawa landmark, but that plan was vetoed by federal officials.
"As far as we're concerned, we're all in," Melnyk said. "We've been in since the beginning. We just didn't tell anybody. We're hoping that it can happen. It's great for the fans and the city. The fact that it's not on Parliament Hill, I'm still scratching my head. It is what it is. It could have been a three-hour infomercial globally for Ottawa; just think about it that way. We'll do our best. I think we can do a lot of fun things in TD Place and try to make it a very, very, very unique experience.
"We hope everybody cooperates with one another. We're the easy ones. We have to show up."
There are plans for an alumni game and a skills competition the day before the game between the Senators and the Canadiens, Melnyk said.
The League will kick off its year-long Centennial celebration when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 Scotiabank NHL Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on Jan. 1 (3 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, NBC, NHL.TV) .
The St. Louis Blues will host the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Jan. 2 (1 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, SN, NHL.TV).