The NHL's Heritage Classic outdoor game in Canada, which "made its return when Calgary hosted the event in February, won’t be staged next season,” according to sources cited by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. A source said that the Heritage “may return” for the ’12-13 season, but “at the very least will skip next season.” Next season's Winter Classic, expected to be held in Philadelphia, “remains as the only outdoor game" during the '11-12 campaign (ESPN.com, 6/11). In Calgary, Steve MacFarlane wrote, “Making the celebration of the roots of hockey in Canada an annual or bi-ennial tradition is probably inevitable, the way the Winter Classic is now used to grow the game in the U.S. every New Year’s Day.” But you "have to like the fact that the league isn’t cheapening just the second outdoor NHL game on Canadian soil in eight years by jumping right into a commitment to a third in some other city no doubt clamoring for the rights to host because of the added revenue from jacked-up ticket prices, food and drink sales and merchandising.” The league is "ensuring by leaving the date of the next one in limbo that it continues to be considered a special event" (CALGARY SUN, 6/12).
