It’s going to take some nifty stickhandling on the NHL’s part to stage a second outdoor game this winter; some Alexander Ovechkin-like stickhandling.
The idea, as confirmed by various sources, would see the Calgary Flames play at McMahon Stadium on Jan. 1, 2010, likely against the Edmonton Oilers. The game would be held in partnership with the originally scheduled Outdoor Classic set for Fenway Park. That game is expected to have the Boston Bruins against Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals.
But having a second outdoor affair means having to solve a couple of key issues. For starters, the NHL schedule is due out in about three weeks. The league has been careful not to rush its schedule given the ongoing ownership squabble over the Phoenix Coyotes. But at some point, arenas have to be booked, games have to be slotted and tickets have to be sold.
The bigger issue for Calgary would be how to have useable ice in a city where temperature fluctuations are as common as Saddledome sellouts. While the NHL did purchase ice-making equipment to ensure last year’s game surface at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, that equipment will be used in Boston - forcing Calgary officials to find another way to maintain good ice.
Just this week, the masterminds behind NHL 2K10 had Ovechkin in Las Vegas to promote and mimic his hockey-playing actions for video-game reality. Ovechkin skated his stuff on artificial ice. The reason? Bringing in the proper ice-making equipment was deemed too expensive at $1-million US).
Those issues aside, there is still time for an outdoor game to be organized for McMahon Stadium, where the CFL’s Grey Cup game will be played on Nov. 29. But if it’s going to happen, the league and its interested parties need to get busy, and long before the snow flies, too.
