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

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

Classic is an annual hockey game that has taken place since 2008. Learn more about its history, all-time results and other stats now.

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.

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

Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks was the 15th edition of the annual outdoor game held by the NHL. While the event is always a joyous occasion for the host city, the game between the Blues and Blackhawks caught the fewest number of eyes in its history.

St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before the Winter Classic. He looked at the growing crowd soaking in the festive atmosphere.

Classic audience dipped below 1 million viewers for the first time with its move to a New Year’s Eve late afternoon window this season. TNT and truTV drew just 920,000 viewers for the Blues-Blackhawks game from Wrigley Field with a 5pm ET start,

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.

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.