St. Louis Blues 'strongly considered' to host 2017 Winter Classic (Report)

It's been just over a month since the last Winter Classic... SO WHY DON'T WE KNOW WHERE THE NEXT ONE IS GOING TO BE YET?!

Speculation is rampant.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins are out of the running with the report earlier this week of their Stadium Series game. Others thought the game would be in Toronto; to coincide with the organization and the NHL's centennial celebration.

If the report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is correct, the St. Louis Blues will host the day after New Year's Day event at Busch Stadium.

Who will they play? The Florida Panthers.

Okay, not really. It's the Chicago Blackhawks, of course. A year cannot go by without the Blackhawks appearing in an outdoor game. It's in the small print of the CBA.

The ink isn't completely dry on the deal yet but it sounds like the residents of Busch, the St. Louis Cardinals, are preparing for a hockey game. From the Post-Dispatch:

"The plan is not yet complete, but the league is strongly considering the city to host the "Winter Classic," in which the Blues' opponent could be the Chicago Blackhawks. There is also the option of the team playing in a "Stadium Series" game, but according to sources, the Cardinals are expecting to host a hockey game at Busch on Jan. 2, which is a potential date for next year's Winter Classic."

The league is expected to move the date of the event to Monday, January 2 to avoid conflicting with the final day of the NFL's regular season on Sunday, January 1.

We know the TV rating in the US would be obliterated by the NFL if they went head to head. This most likely ensures a night time game in St. Louis. People will return to work after the holidays on Monday and won't be home to watch during the day.

While Chicago may be less than enthused to play in another outdoor game, this is exciting for St. Louis Blues fans. They're one of the few major hockey markets to not appear in a stadium game.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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