When it was announced that Buffalo would be hosting an outdoor game between the USA and Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championships, many Buffalo Sabres fans figured that, since there would already be a perfectly good outdoor stadium available, that the Sabres would host the 2018 Winter Classic.
According to a report today by Newsday, the Sabres will be in the 2018 Winter Classic…just not in Buffalo.
Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, is rumored to be the site of next year’s premiere outdoor game, between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers.
Close to being finalized, per sources: Winter Classic 2018 at Citi Field https://t.co/9VSgirlmqu via @stapenewsday and @dplennon
— Newsday Sports (@NewsdaySports) March 15, 2017
Next year’s Winter Classic will be the 10th anniversary of the first (and best) Winter Classic, which featured the Sabres against the Penguins from Ralph Wilson Stadium. It would also, in a shocking move for NHL outdoor games, not involve the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sabres at Rangers would theoretically be a match up between two popular and (hopefully) playoff-bound (oh please just give this to us) teams. It’s not quite as spicy a matchup as Sabres vs. Leafs would have been, but it still gives us a bit of Vesey-related interest, as well as the first appearance in an outdoor game for young stars such as Jack Eichel.
What do you think, Sabres fans? Assuming this is true, is anybody making the trek to NYC, or planning on double-dipping with this game and the World Junior game on Dec. 29? Just excited to see the royal blue uniforms again? Let us know in the comments.