The NHL is once again taking a new strategy with one of its tentpole events. The Winter Classic — which has traditionally been contested on New Year’s Day up until this season when the league ...

The Winter Classic has been the NHL's signature regular-season event since the 2007-08 season, taking a New Year's Day game outdoors to various football and baseball stadiums across North America.

In previous years, the NHL Winter Classic was part of New Year's Day festivities -- or on January 2 when the holiday fell on a Sunday -- a tradition the NHL has held to since the event's inception ...