When is the 2025 NHL Winter Classic?
Most people will assume the 2025 NHL Winter Classic is on New Year's Day. They'd be surprised to know they're wrong.
Last season, the Vegas Golden Knights were the first team to be shut out during the Winter Classic. They lost, 3-0, to the Seattle Kraken, despite recording 35 shots on goal. It was part of a tumultuous stretch that eventually saw the team fold in the first round. Life was rough for the then-defending champions, for a wave of injuries and inconsistent play did them in.
The NHL schedule being released earlier in the week brings us to the next iteration of the event. In this contest, the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will face each other in another chapter of their storied rivalry. The venue? Wrigley Field, which has hosted many baseball matches between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.
The matchup will conjure numerous memories from the baseball side, including the Cubs's magical 2016 World Series run and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa dueling for home run supremacy. All that's missing is Harry Caray on the microphone and everyone will be satisfied.
But there's one minor catch to this season's Winter Classic: It's not happening on New Year's Day. Instead, the rematch from 2017 will occur on a different date. But is it before or after New Year's Day? When will fans get their elemental hockey fix in during the busy college football bowl season?
The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will face off at Wrigley Field on December 31, 2024
The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will face each other at Wrigley Field on December 31, 2024. It'll mark the first time the NHL has held two Winter Classic events in the same calendar year. It would be one iteration (Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken) to start and the other to finish 2024. The NHL schedule works in funny ways sometimes.
As mentioned, this isn't the first time the two teams are facing each other in the event. In 2017 at Busch Stadium, the Blues blew out the Blackhawks, 4-1. Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals that game, capping off four straight goals for St. Louis in a Central Division matchup. Ironically, that game also wasn't on New Year's Day, for it fell on January 2nd, 2017.
One current Vegas Golden Knights star was in that game, though. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo played for the St. Louis Blues at the time, where he was budding into the elite blue-liner he is today. He didn't have a goal or an assist in that game. However, he was called for slashing in the first period.
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