While speaking with reporters during the Buffalo Sabres’ season opener this past week, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hinted at a potential return of the league’s Winter Classic series to Orchard Park in the near future.
The 20th anniversary of the NHL’s outdoor game is coming up in 2028, two decades after the event began at the home of the Buffalo Bills. And Bettman says that the league is targeting that season to bring the Winter Classic to the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium, which is set to be completed in time for the 2026 NFL season.
“I’m not making an announcement or committing to it, but we’re kind of focused on whether or not we can do it around the 20th anniversary of the original Winter Classic,” said Bettman. “We’ve already had discussions about the possibility of an outdoor game at Highmark, and that’s something that we think would be great.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wants to bring an outdoor game back to Buffalo and to new Highmark Stadium.
“I'm not making an announcement or committing to it, but we're kind of focused on whether or not we can do it around the 20th anniversary of the original Winter Classic.” pic.twitter.com/AzCUIPa2H7
The inaugural Winter Classic was held at then-named Ralph Wilson Stadium on Jan. 1, 2008, bringing over 71,000 fans together in a snow-filled atmosphere to watch the Sabres fall to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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“We’re grateful that we did it here first,” Bettman said about kicking off the highly popular event in Orchard Park. “And we are going to come back, I promise.”
The Sabres last played in the NHL’s outdoor game during the 2017 season when the New York Rangers defeated Buffalo 3-2 in overtime at Citi Field, home of MLB’s New York Mets. Last year’s Winter Classic featured the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, with St. Louis earning a 6-2 victory at Wrigley Field, the historic home of MLB’s Chicago Cubs.
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The Sabres are off to a rough start to the 2025 campaign, sitting at 0-2 in their quest to earn the team’s first playoff appearance since the 2010 season.
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Alex Brasky is editor of Bills Digest and host of the Buffalo Pregame podcast. He has been on the Bills beat the past six seasons and now joins Sports Illustrated hoping to expand his coverage of Buffalo’s favorite football team.
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