Early reports of an outdoor game in Montreal

The NHL has two outdoor games scheduled for this season, the annual Winter Classic game in Chicago on December 31st and a Stadium Series game scheduled for March 1st in Columbus, Ohio.

The Blackhawks will host the St. Louis Blues (Been there, done that) at Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic while the Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium for the Stadium Series. For the Blackhawks, it'll be their sixth outdoor game, tied with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins as the teams who have played the most outdoor games.

Ironically though, hockey's most successful and iconic franchise has never hosted an outdoor game. Professional hockey was literally invented in Montreal and yet the Montreal Canadiens have never hosted a Winter Classic or a Stadium Series game. What gives?

In his latest '32 Thoughts' column for Sportsnet though, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman hinted at a possible outdoor game in Montreal featuring the Canadiens vs their biggest rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs.

From Friedman:

Watching Montreal pack its building for two rookie games against hated Toronto makes me think of only one thing: that market needs an outdoor game in the worst way. I recently watched a video of a lightbulb that uses facial recognition to change lighting to match a person’s mood. Surely, if we can do that, we can find a way to get an outdoor game in Montreal. The weekend highlights looked fantastic.

- Elliotte Friedman

A Habs vs Leafs Winter Classic?!?! Sign me up!