When the puck drops on January 2 at Citizen’s Bank Park it will mark the fifth occurrence of the Winter Classic. The event has gone from a fledgling experiment to a made-for-TV goldmine that competes with other major sporting events.

The Flyers and Rangers clash will take place in the third baseball stadium and be the second-straight time that a previous participant appears in the Classic. Only one instance involved teams from the Western Conference.

The event as a single entity is beyond brilliant. Not only is it a perfect television product, it easily draws casual fans to the sport. In addition, thrusting the game back into its natural environment provides added drama; not only due to the venue but the potential monkey wrench the weather can act as. Since the league cherry picks the best possible foes on a yearly basis, there is almost no way to fail. However, there have been a few contests that fared better than others.

Considering all of the outside forces that impact this brilliant event, it is largely a roll of the dice each season. While last year’s game was the first to truly be affected by weather, the other events went off without a hitch. In addition to weather, the venue, the teams and the actual game all factor into the overall product in the end. Here is a rundown of where each Winter Classic stacks up: Continue reading →