Will Bundesliga stadiums host the NHL Winter Classic in the future? A report by Sportsnet suggests that it might be possible.

The NHL may have saturated the market on outdoor games. With a one-to-two other games played outdoors each year in the NHL Stadium Series — in addition to the trends in broadcast television viewership, the Winter Classic has seen a steady decline over the past ten seasons.

On a rainy Saturday at Wrigley Field, The St. Louis Blues rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Winter Classic, 6-2. The Blues lit up the scoreboard, and that outburst of offense came from the defense.

For the first time, the NHL's annual winter classic will be played on New Year's Eve. But the matchup is familar, with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues.

St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS)

Classic has been a long-standing tradition in hockey, but the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field will be the first time the game is set to be played on New Year's Eve. In previous years, the NHL Winter Classic was part of New Year's Day festivities

Only 920,000 viewers watched the Hawks' blowout loss on Tuesday on TNT and TruTV, according to Sports Media Watch.

Classic is an annual hockey game that has taken place since 2008. Learn more about its history, all-time results and other stats now.

This year's NHL Winter Classic was an absolute dud, recycling two teams (the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues) that have already played in multiple outdoor games in a venue (Wrigley Field) that has already been used.

The New Year’s Eve matchup drew fewer than one million viewers. The post NHL Shouldn’t Panic About Worst-Ever Winter Classic Ratings appeared first on Front Office Sports.