The NHL may have saturated the market on outdoor games. With a one-to-two other games played outdoors each year in the NHL Stadium Series — in addition to the trends in broadcast television viewership, the Winter Classic has seen a steady decline over the past ten seasons.

Wrigley Field also hosted the 2009 edition of the event, which was won by the Detroit Red Wings in one of the wildest games the annual tradition has produced.

The 2025 NHL Winter Classic went back to Chicago to ring in the new year and the views were absolutely stunning.

After having the worst ratings in the history of the NHL’s Winter Classic, something’s got to change for the NHL.

On a rainy Saturday at Wrigley Field, The St. Louis Blues rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Winter Classic, 6-2. The Blues lit up the scoreboard, and that outburst of offense came from the defense.

Only 920,000 viewers watched the Hawks' blowout loss on Tuesday on TNT and TruTV, according to Sports Media Watch.

Will Bundesliga stadiums host the NHL Winter Classic in the future? A report by Sportsnet suggests that it might be possible.

This year's NHL Winter Classic was an absolute dud, recycling two teams (the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues) that have already played in multiple outdoor games in a venue (Wrigley Field) that has already been used.

The New Year’s Eve matchup drew fewer than one million viewers. The post NHL Shouldn’t Panic About Worst-Ever Winter Classic Ratings appeared first on Front Office Sports.