Leaving Canucks out in the cold a bad move for Seattle's Winter Classic

@NHL/X

Can’t help feel it’s opportunity lost come New Year’s Day in the Emerald City.

The third-year Seattle Kraken will play host to the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in the not-so Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park. The forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 8 degrees celsius.

The two newest NHL teams will take centre stage in one of the league’s marquee — is it still marquee? — events.

three more sleeps 😍 pic.twitter.com/yvVUQFI0z5

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 29, 2023

But by all rights, Seattle’s opponent should be the Vancouver Canucks.

Yes, I know. This game is (hopefully) a decent ratings driver for the NHL and the presence of a Canadian team would hurt that number.

The alternative is a game that lacks soul, and that’s frankly what these outdoor games have turned into under Gary Bettman. Cash-grab gates for the hosting team, every governor lobbying to get one and sell tens of thousands more tickets than they otherwise would in arenas.

The visitors this year come from Vegas but you have to wonder how many fans will be joining them?

Despite a championship, Golden Knights are still growing their fan base, and here’s doubting many make the trip from sunny Las Vegas to the damp Pacific Northwest.

Likewise, the Kraken have a developing audience and watching hockey in a baseball park will surely be a novelty bound to bring out some looky-loos. But if outdoor games are supposed to harken calls to the sport’s roots, they should be more than just a road-side fascination.

The Canucks and their fans would have made for a better opponent, a better scene and a better event. And with the way they’re playing this season, think of how many Canucks fans would have made the trip.

This was the stage needed to stoke the I-5 rivalry. It finally got some fuel in November when Canucks fans invaded Climate Pledge Arena over the US Thanksgiving weekend and watched their team emerge with a victory.

The presence of loud-and-proud interlopers finally kicked this would-be blood feud in the tail.

Beyond that, it’s clear that this market has PTSD over hosting a stadium (not outdoor) game of its own. The 2014 Heritage Classic defeat to the Ottawa Senators not only marked Roberto Luongo’s last stand in Vancouver, it also left fans feeling like they were deprived of the full experience. Rainy outside, expensive inside… it fell neatly into the cash-grab brand that these games have become.

So a true outdoor game in Seattle may be the best way to get Canucks fans back on board with outdoor hockey. And there would’ve been no better time than this year.

Too bad the NHL didn’t recognize that. Too bad US television didn’t see the vision. And too bad for a rivalry that could certainly use some fuel.

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