Blackhawks to host Blues in 2025 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field

The NHL is going back to its version of Old Reliable for the Winter Classic.

According to multiple media outlets, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the league has reportedly tapped Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, for the 2025 Classic where the Blackhawks will host their division rival St. Louis Blues.

The 'Hawks have played in four previous Winter Classics. They were the hosts against the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley in 2009 and a decade later across state lines at Notre Dame Stadium against the Boston Bruins. They were also the road team against Washington in 2015 at Nationals Park and against the Blues in St. Louis' Busch Stadium two years later. The franchise has also played in Stadium Series games in Soldier Field (vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014) and at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium (against the Wild in 2016). This would be the Blues' third Classic after the 2017 game and the 2022 version against the Wild, which was postponed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, those teams were completely different compared to the one that will take Wrigley next January. The NHL rode Chicago hard in the post-lockout 2000s into the 2010s as the team won three Stanley Cups and featured future Hall of Famers in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. This group is led by the next superstar-in-waiting for the league, Connor Bedard, yet his team is nowhere close to Stanley Cup contention. The same can be said for a Blues team that has declined since winning the Cup in 2019.

Cynically, it's easy to see that the league and TNT would push for Chicago after the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights drew the least-viewed Classic on record back on New Year's Day. The Blackhawks have a massive following across the United States and the city itself is the third-largest media market, which will draw higher viewership regardless of how good or bad the team could be at that point in the season. 

In a fractured media environment, not even the most popular teams or players would be able to boost the ratings back to its initial peak right now. Scheduling the game against the College Football Playoff bonanza hasn't been helpful, though the same problem exists for everything else on television that day. 

However, the Winter Classic remains a massive in-person event for whichever city and region gets to host it. Filling up an outdoor stadium on a day outside of its traditional use is a nice way to draw revenue for the surrounding businesses, especially hotels, bars and restaurants that will welcome fans who will be in attendance. It's a secondary All-Star Weekend of sorts for the NHL, and there may not be a city in the league that would turn away the chance to host it.