Edmonton was the first city to host an outdoor regular season NHL game, and it sounds like they will be hosting another one during the 2021-22 season.
Elliotte Friedman discussed the possibility of Edmonton hosting another outdoor game on Saturday Night, during Hockey Night in Canada's Headlines segment. He made the following comments:
"My feet have finally thawed out from November 22, 2003, the first of this generation's outdoor games at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, the Oilers against the Montreal Canadiens. That was the one that set the stage and began the stretch of everything that we see now, well I don't think there's going to be an outdoor game in Canada next year after the one in Regina, but I do believe that for 2021-22 there's a good chance that the next one will be back in Edmonton, I think they feel they deserve another opportunity."
Regular season outdoor games began with the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens, back in 2003, at the first ever Heritage Classic. Montreal ended up winning the game 4-3. The 57,167 fans braved the -30 degree Celsius temperatures to watch history in the making.
The Oilers have a record of 1-1 in outdoor games, their loss coming to the Canadiens in the inaugural outdoor game mentioned above. They beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 in the 2016 Heritage Classic for their first outdoor game win.
-
