Blue Jackets President John Davidson said the organization has talked "internally" about hosting an outdoor game but wants to "make sure the timing is right," according to Aaron Portzline of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Davidson said, "We've had some ideas with people in the city, and everybody would be on board. We're in no rush for it. But I say this with conviction, that down the road there's a good chance it can work for us in the city." Asked if he was concerned if an outdoor game would be able to fill Ohio Stadium, Davidson said, "No, I don't think so. It may not be like Michigan Stadium, where you get 100,000 and however many people. You'll get a significant crowd in there. It's not going to be 100,000 people, I don't think." He added, "It should draw from the entire state and beyond. They'll come from Canada and Kentucky, all over the place. A lot depends on who you're playing. But for us it'll be an exciting thing." Asked if he would support playing it at a different venue, Davidson said, "I don't know the exact NHL plan. I don't know what they'd want to achieve through the whole thing. Ohio State, those are great people to work with. The Crew people are wonderful people to work with. I'd want to have it in Columbus" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/27).
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: The Flyers visited the Penguins at Heinz Field on Saturday as part of the NHL's Stadium Series, and in Philadelphia, Sam Carchidi wrote his knee-jerk reaction to outdoor games is "enough already." The NHL has "taken away the uniqueness of the games by playing too many of these made-for-TV events each season." But after "talking to players and fans" leading up to Saturday's matchup, his "tune has changed." The players "love them, and never get tired of playing in the great outdoors and going back to their innocent days as kids." The fans also "adore these outdoor games." More than 65,000 fans attended Saturday's game -- the "biggest crowd to ever watch the Flyers play" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/26).
SOUND CHECK: NHL Exec VP & Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer said that the league's planning committee spends "many months tracking what is popular in the music industry and doing all they can to find the perfect fit" for musical talent for the outdoor games. SI.com's Kyle Phillippi notes the band Kaleo performed at a pregame festival on Saturday, and during the first period intermission Train "performed on short notice after the original act OneRepublic had to back out the day before due to illness." Mayer said, "We want to make sure that there's a little something for everybody. We realize that for some people, this could be their first game so you want to suck them in with all the other things we do" (SI.com, 2/27).
