The 2017 event, which will take place January 2 at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, will feature the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. With the Blues celebrating their 50th season since entering the league as an expansion franchise in 1967, it appears the team will be using their original logo for their jerseys. The official announcement was made Tuesday at Busch Stadium. “When these teams meet, it’s always an intense battle and we certainly saw that last spring. It will be a lot of fun”. “We know there is great enthusiasm for youth hockey in our region”.
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This is the first outdoor game for the Blues and the third time Chicago is taking part in the Winter Classic. “After school you’d bring your skates to school, and there was a rink right besides our school”.
“This is a major league city and unfortunately the NFL has not deemed us worthy, which I think is ridiculous”, Blues Hall of Famer Bernie Federko said. The teams are friendly competitors and illustrated that point not long after the Rams decision to leave for Los Angeles when Stillman and Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III dropped a ceremonial puck before a game. “It’s a soothing moment for sports fans because for our sport, this is the big hurrah”. “Anybody watching would have appreciated that”. We would be thrilled to host the Winter Classic in any year, but it’s really special to host it in our 50th anniversary season. “We expect it to be funded through bonds that will be paid off by rental fees generated by users”, the County Executive said.
Those fans have been supporting the Blues for a half-century. When it came to choosing an opponent for the Blues, Bettman and his team had only to make one call.
The Hawks and Blues will play the following day in this year’s Winter Classic, and the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Philadelphia Flyers in a Stadium Series game at Heinz Field on February 18 to wrap up the league’s celebration of its centennial.
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The Blackhawks and Blues have been divisional rivals for decades, and their rivalry took a new turn in 2016 as the teams met in the first round of the postseason.
