The 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is almost here and it has got us dreaming about the Vegas Golden Knights playing in such an event.
In what is the crown jewel of the regular season calendar every year, the Winter Classic has been a roaring success every year since its inception in 2008. So, the question is, when will the Vegas Golden Knights play in a Winter Classic?
That is a very good question and it seems we may have to wait a while.
For starters, the 2021 Winter Classic looks set to be played in Minnesota at Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins) with the Winnipeg Jets, the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche all possible opponents for the Wild.
And it is feasible to think that the Golden Knights are way down the list of teams to be involved in a Winter Classic given that they are an expansion franchise, let alone even host such an event.
A more realistic opportunity, perhaps, would be for the Knights to be involved in one of the other outdoor games the NHL stages during the course of a regular season.
After all, the National Hockey League could opt for a test run with the Golden Knights and outdoor games by giving them a Stadium Series event to gauge the reaction.
There is also the possibility that the league could decide that Vegas would be more suited to hosting an All-Star Game first, which would be another cool event to have in Sin City.
However, there are very few negatives to the Vegas Golden Knights hosting a flagship event such as the Winter Classic.
Granted, Vegas is a (very) warm-climate city and that could be a concern, although that may change after this year given that the 2020 Winter Classic is taking place in Dallas, which has proved extremely popular on the ticket front by the way.
But, apart from that one logistical aspect, it would make perfect sense for the Golden Knights to host a Winter Classic soon.
Given their unprecedented success since entering the NHL in 2017, there is a lot of intrigue around this team still and their Stanley Cup window is wide open.
That last point is important because at least the NHL would have a contender hosting the Winter Classic, and it would generate a lot of interest no matter the opponent.
And then there is the fact that hockey in Vegas has been an absolute home run with the locals falling head over heels for the Knights.
T-Mobile Arena is regularly full and Vegas features in the upper echelons when it comes to viewership for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, even when their team aren’t involved, so you know there would be a bumper crowd at a Vegas Winter Classic.
Plus, who can throw a better party than the Vegas Golden Knights?
As well as consistent success on the ice, the Knights have also wowed with their pre-game and in-game entertainment and they would be sure to put on an absolute show if they were given a Winter Classic to host.
Overall, it just makes perfect sense for the Vegas Golden Knights to host a prestigious event such as the Winter Classic and we feel it would be a match made in heaven.
We’ll certainly be dreaming of that becoming a possibility when the Dallas Stars take on the Nashville Predators at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Wednesday.