Winter Classic 2024 Teams are the Seattle Kraken andVegas Golden Knights. This outdoor event will take place on 1st January 2024.
The matchup will be broadcast exclusively on TVA Sports and Sportsnet in Canada and TNT in the United States at noon. The Knights and Kraken are the two most current NHL expansions, joining the league before the 2017-18 and the 2021-22 seasons, respectively.
The NHL Winter Classic is among the top splendors in all sports. It is a New Year's tradition being held since 2008, the first-ever Winter Classic.
Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres inaugurated the event at Ralph Wilson Stadium, New York. The Kraken will become the 29th NHL team to be a part of a regular-season outdoor game.
NHL has hosted 38 regular-season outdoor matches, including the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic between the Oilers and the Flames.
The upcoming Winter Classic will continue the league's tradition based in 2008 of hosting an outdoor regular-season game at the new year's onset, marking the first NHL Winter Classic's 16th anniversary in 2024.
It will be the 39th NHL outdoor regular-season game and the second of four outdoor games scheduled by the NHL for the 2023-24 season.
The first NHL outdoor game was the 2003 Heritage Classic held at the Commonwealth Stadium between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens.
When is the Winter Classic 2024?
The Winter Classic 2024 schedule incorporates the matchup between the NHL's youngest franchises on 1 January 2024 on New Year's Day.
The Seattle Kraken will host their first outdoor game that will be held in the Pacific Time Zone for the first time. The event will take place in a retractable roof stadium as a preventive measure for Kraken's rainy climate.
The 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic will be the 15th edition since its initiation in 2008. The recent Winter Classic occurred on 2nd January 2023 at Fenway Park, Boston. The Penguins competed against the Boston Bruins in a 2-1 loss at the event.
The NHL regular-season outdoor games usually feature teams with vintage uniforms. Many fans have created some jersey concepts each team would be wearing to represent the NHL's marquee outdoor event.
Being a New Year's tradition, all NHL Winter Classic games are held on New Year's Day, except for 2012, 2017, and 2023. During these years, the event was hosted on 2 January because of the New Year's Day being Sunday.
Furthermore, with its initiation in 2008, the Winter Classic has taken place 14 times in 2009-2012, 2014-2020, 2022, and 2023. The 2013 event was postponed to the following year due to the 2012-13 NHL lookout, while the 2021 event was deferred due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
NHL Winter Classic 2024 Location
Where is the Winter Classic 2024? It will be held at T-Mobile Park. The Kraken will host the Knights in their 1st outdoor regular-season game.
Throughout history, the affair has occurred in venues across the continent, incorporating Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Target Field in Minneapolis, and Fenway Park in Boston.
The ballpark, originally called Safeco Field, came into operation on 15 July 1999 with a seating capacity of 47,929. In addition to the Baseball games, the venue has hosted soccer games, college football, 2003 WWE's WrestleMania, and several concerts since its opening.
The park is operated and owned by the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District. T-Mobile has owned the naming rights of the stadium since 2018, which Safeco Insurance, a Seattle-based company, previously owned.
The Seattle Kraken's first NHL outdoor game will ensue at the Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners' home arena. The Knights will play their second NHL outdoor game after debuting against the Colorado Avalanche at Lake Tahoe in the 2021 NHL Outdoors.
The Kraken will become the first team from the Pacific Division to host the Winter Classic. T-Mobile Park will become the eighth baseball arena and 14th overall stadium to host the NHL's regular-season premier event since its inauguration in 2008.
The first Winter Classic, i.e., the 2008 NHL outdoor regular-season game, was held at the National Football League's Buffalo Bills home arena, Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Following that, the event has been held at 12 different venues, with Fenway Park, Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox's home, hosting the event twice in 2010 and 2023.
Furthermore, the current venue, T-Mobile Park, offers a retractable roof, allowing the NHL to construct the rink and position the stage on the field while decorating the establishment in all weather conditions.
Who is Playing in the Winter Classic 2024?
Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights will play in the Winter Classic 2024. Tickets for the outdoor event are on sale since 14 July 2023.
The Knights will be playing their second outdoor game, while it is the first NHL outdoor game for the Kraken. Following is a brief description of the youngest NHL franchises competing in the much-anticipated event.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights are a professional NHL club based in the Metropolitan area of Las Vegas. The team joined the league ahead of the 2017-18 season and has been competing in the NHL as a Western Conference's Pacific Division member.
The 2023 Stanley Cup Champions, the Knights, have appeared in five out of six of their Playoffs, reaching the finals during their first and last appearance. In its seventh season in the league, the Knights are the fastest NHL expansion team to lift the Silver Cup.
The Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in five games to win the Cup after prevailing over the Dallas Stars in the 2023 Conference Finals by 4-2. In addition, the defending champion, the Knights, has won the conference championship twice in the past six seasons.
The VGK plays its home games at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The arena has a seating capacity of 20,000, with 17,500 seats for ice hockey, and has hosted several events like MMA, award shows, pro wrestling, UFC, and ice hockey since its inauguration.
Since the beginning of the NHL outdoor regular-season games, the league has staged 38 games in which the Golden Knights have appeared once during the 2021 NHL Outdoors against the Colorado Avalanche at Lake Tahoe.
The Golden Knights are led by their all-time captain, Mark Stones, with Alex Pietrangelo and Reilly Smith serving as assistant captains. Bruce Cassidy has been serving as a head coach for the team since 2022.
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken is the 32nd NHL expansion team based in Seattle. The club joined the league before the 2021-22 season and, like the Knights, has been competing in the NHL as the Western Conference's Pacific Division member.
The Seattle is the first professional ice hockey club in Seattle since the Western Hockey League's Seattle Totems played their final match in 1975. The team plays home games at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
In its third season in the league, the Kraken has yet to win any championship. They made their NHL regular-season debut on 12 October 2021 in a 4-3 loss against the Golden Knights. Dave Hakstol coached the team, while Mark Giordano served as the captain.
They recorded 27-49-6 with 60 points and finished last in the Pacific Division in their debut season. The following season, the Kraken debuted their Playoffs as the Western Conference's first wild card with a 46-28-8 record.
Adam Larsson, Jaden Schwartz, Yanni Gourde, and Jordan Eberle lead the team currently as alternate captains. Following the release of Mark Giordano in 2022, the club remains without any captain.
