It appears that once again the St. Louis Blues will be snubbed out of any outdoor games despite the success of the franchise over the last couple seasons and the history behind the team.  Many hockey fans forget that the Blues were established in 1967 as part of the NHL’s original expansion.  While the Blues are the only expansion team from ’67 yet to win a Stanley Cup, they did reach the finals in each of their first three seasons.  Perhaps the drought of not reaching the Cup Finals for the last 41 years has the NHL looking to other teams, but what are all of the reasons that the Blues should not get an outdoor game, from the perspective of the NHL and its fans:

• The Blues have spent the last 44 years trying to raise the cup and never have
• The Blues lack a true superstar forward
• The St. Louis market is not nearly as large as other hockey markets, especially those included in the upcoming Stadium Series
• The Blues are a very young team that has yet to prove themselves
• The weather in St. Louis is unpredictable

For fans of the St. Louis Blues though, there is a very different perception.  In 2009, the NHL held their annual Winter Classic in the windy city at the famous Wrigley Field.  When Blues fans heard the news that the Hawks would be hosting, many fans hoped that it would not be long before the classic was held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  So why do the Blues deserve to host an outdoor game at Busch?

• The Blues have a strong fanbase that deserves attention
• Young and rising players keep St. Louis Blues games exciting
• Players like Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko are bringing the Blues more attention
• The Blues are close to a team that could compete for the cup.  The NHL should want to highlight rising teams
• Busch Stadium is part of the St. Louis culture.  The Blues often highlight the Cardinals and vice versa.  It is a strong community.
• If the weather in Los Angeles is not a fear, St. Louis should be much easier

Last month we wrote about St. Louis being a possible location for the Winter Classic in the future and touched on some of the reasons why we would love to see that happen.

Although the Winter Classic might not make it to St. Louis in the near future, the gateway city may have a chance at another type of outdoor game.

According to The 4th Period, the NHL is considering multiple outdoor games for the 2013-14 season.

According to multiple well-placed sources, the NHL is planning on having not one, but several additional outdoor games in 2014, a series of outdoor games, if you will, which will begin with the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Supposedly there are going to be an additional game, or possible two, known as the Heritage Classic (they should check with Harley Davidson just to make sure they can use the name first) which would be set to take place in either Vancouver or Edmonton.  Additionally, the NHL would host one or more outdoor games in MLB stadiums.  The 4th Period listed New York and Los Angeles the locations they saw this happening at Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium respectively.

It’s unclear when the NHL will finalize its plans, though it sounds like both New York and Los Angeles are near-locks…  Whether they turn this into an annual series is an entirely different question they need to figure out, but all signs point to two additional outdoor games next season.

Although at first the article said that they were planning two additional outdoor games, The 4th Period later updated the article and claimed that four additional games are possible.

…that would mean there is a possibility of four outdoor games for the 2013-14 season: the Winter Classic, the Heritage Classic, an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium and an outdoor game at Dodger Stadium.

The planning of additional outdoor games is sure to excite fans.  If the events become annual celebrations like the Winter Classic has become, you had better believe that fans and ownership in multiple cities will be vying to host one of the events.  This could mean that the St. Louis Blues would have a better chance of hosting an outdoor game.

More as we have it.  LET’S GO BLUES!

-Alex Hodschayan