Oilers to host Heritage Classic outdoor game in 2023: report
The Edmonton Oilers are heading back outdoors for the Heritage Classic next season.
The Oilers, who hosted the inaugural Heritage Classic against the Montreal Canadiens back in 2003, are expected to once again play host to the Canadian outdoor game 20 years later, according to Jason Gregor of TSN1260.
Heritage Classic began in Edmonton in 2003. Twenty years later it will return. Oilers will host Heritage Classic in October 2023. https://t.co/xJ0IPbx1e2
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) December 6, 2022
Edmonton is expected to host the Calgary Flames in an outdoor Battle of Alberta, Gregor wrote.
The game is scheduled to take place in October 2023.
The first Heritage Classic was hosted at Commonwealth Stadium between the Oilers and Canadiens on November 22, 2003, a 4-3 win for Montreal. The game attracted a record crowd of 57,167 that set an NHL single-game attendance mark that more than doubled the league’s previous high.
Gregor suggested an alumni matchup between the two Alberta rivals could take place at next fall’s game, much like the inaugural game. The original Heritage Classic featured Wayne Gretzky and Oilers’ alumni against Guy Lafleur and Canadiens’ alumni.
The Flames hosted the Canadiens at McMahon Stadium on February 20, 2011, in Calgary’s first foray outdoors.
In all, the Oilers and Flames have each participated in two outdoor games. Edmonton also played against the Winnipeg Jets at Investors Group Field in 2016, and Calgary played opposite Winnipeg in a neutral site game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2019.
Another game would be the seventh in Heritage Classic history.
The Vancouver Canucks also hosted the Ottawa Senators at BC Place in 2014, and the Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed the Buffalo Sabres to Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, in 2022.
Edmonton’s outdoor adventure against Montreal remains the highest-attended Heritage Classic game. The NHL’s largest attendance for an outdoor game came in a Winter Classic matchup between the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, which drew 105,491 fans to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2014.
Follow Channels and Categories