Today In NHL History - Chicago Stick Up

On January 1st in 2009, the Detroit Red Wings played the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL's outdoor Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. In a city famous for crime and corruption, I suppose it's not surprising that Chicago afternoon ended cloaked in controversy.

Fresh off a 6-4 victory in The Friendly Confines, Henrik Zetterberg handed his game stick to 14 year-old Wings fan Kalan Plew. Moments later, a man posing as a security guard confiscated the souvenir from Kalan explaining he could retrieve the prize from customer relations with his parents. As the imposter led Kalan from the stands, he bolted with the kid's stick.

Meanwhile in Wrigley's upper deck men’s washroom, 45 year-old dentist Robert Pappert was relieving himself when a man uniformed as a security guard walked in with a hockey stick. Upon learning that the stick belonged to his wife’s favorite player Henrik Zetterberg, Pappert offered the man $100 and took it home with him to North Carolina.

When Marc Plew met his son Kalan outside the stadium he knew something was wrong. Instead of celebrating the Red Wings' victory, he was crying. Upon learning of the atrocity, Plew reached out to the Chicago Tribune. The paper's Problem Solvers contacted the Red Wings who vowed to “make it right” by sending Kalan another Zetterberg stick and the story was published in their "What’s Your Problem?" column.

Back in Charlotte, Pappert learned that the Tribune published an article relating to his souvenir. Realizing the stick belonged to Kalan, he contacted the newspaper and returned the twig to its rightful owner. “If I had any idea that that was a bad dude, I would have beaten him with that stick before I left the bathroom ... I had a wonderful time with it for four or five days, but it has to go back to who really owns it.”

Kalan and Pappert were united for an interview on NPR's "All Things Considered". Touched by Pappert's honesty and generosity, the Blackhawks rewarded him with a Patrick Kane jersey and stick and Zetterberg flew Pappert and his wife to Detroit for a game.

No word as to the wherabouts of the crook who crushed a boy's New Year's Day dreams. But all's well that ends well in the Windy City. That's today in NHL history.

The Construction Of A Winter Classic

Since rolling into town three weeks ago, NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig and his crew have been working night and day transforming Fenway Park's infield into a NHL quality ice surface. Behold a time-lapsed video of the construction of this year's Winter Classic.

A real-time streaming video of the rink may be found here. The Bruins faceoff off against the Flyers at 1pm ET on New Year's Day.

Freezing Over Fenway

This afternoon NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig rolled into Boston in his revered refrigeration rig with plans to freeze over Fenway for the 2010 Winter Classic. A live stream of the double agent turned ice guru transforming the ballpark into a NHL rink may be seen below.
The Bruins and Flyers will skate in the Red Sox home on New Year's Day.

Capitals On the Capital

In a prior post, it was proposed that the next Winter Classic be staged on the National Mall. With the Capitals approaching greatness, or at least recognition, this is Washington's window. We floated the idea by owner Ted Leonsis and received the following response:

From: WashingtonCaps@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 8:30 AM
To:
Subject: Re: (no subject)

No-- I wont be able to do that.. league is scare dthat wether here could be in the 70s/. Ted

Seriously? Have you been outside in DC in January? Historical temperatures range between 28 and 42 degrees. Do you realize the NHL is considering the Las Vegas Strip and Rose Bowl as potential sites for future games, with seasonal temperatures ranging from 36 to 57 and 42 to 68 degrees, respectively? Sounds like you're being BS'd by Bettman.

With attendance at the Booth up 29.8 percent (averaging 17,973 per game), tripled TV ratings, and the league's most exciting player on the roster, your time is now. More importantly, you need to act before Ovechkin gets lured away from NHL hockey.

If Obama can manage 1.8 million for his inauguration, surely the Caps can muster 50,000 for a New Year's Day skate. Make the call. Lock it up.

An Instant Classic In the Second City

Last week the NHL staged it’s second Winter Classic in as many years showcasing Original Six siblings and Central Division rivals Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings - the league's youngest team and owner of the highest home attendance this season facing off against the defending Stanley Cup Champs laying claim to the eldest roster and highest road attendance figures. A safe ratings play to be sure.


Shifting the location to Wrigley Field offered an intimate and historically rich alternative to Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium.

But beyond the awesome setting, several small touches distinguished the event: scheduling the game on the back-end of a home-and-home series ensured a playoff intensity rather than that of an exhibition affair, singing both anthems despite the absence of a Canadian team (though two-thirds of Chicago’s lineup were born north of the border), the exposed brick facade on the outside of the boards, the coaches old-time cowboy hats, the pair of fighter jets that buzzed the ballpark, transitioning the title sponsor from Super Dew to Bridgestone, the Costas factor, and the handshakes at the end of the game all classed-up the cause.

A 2.9 television rating in the United States for this year’s game has all but cemented the Winter Classic as an annual affair. With fans flocking to the event, owners are lining up to get a piece of the action. Suitors include the Flyers (Beaver Stadium), Rangers (Yankee Stadium), Bruins (Fenway), Wild (TCF Bank Stadium), and Avalanche (Investco Field)

While gate receipts are a nice boost to annual revenues, the NHL should select its next location with an eye towards developing a U.S. television audience and leveraging a lucrative and comprehensive television contract with a broadcast network.

The goal should be to secure a unique space where no professional sports team has played, a venue of first impression. Can you imagine watching the Rangers and Islanders playing on Central Park's Great Lawn or the Capitals and Penguins skating on the National Mall?








At the very least, let's hope these iconic options are explored before the league stages a Battle of Florida at Disney World.