Hockey at Citi Field

I came across this picture of Whatever Indians Stadium Is Called (“the Jake” to me)…

Looks like they are having “Snow Days” until January 1 (see short video here)

This got me thinking…..this could be fun for Citi Field….but also got me thinking about the NHL Winter Classic.

I haven’t heard much about the Classic at Citi rumor in quite some time, but did you know the NHL is holding a second outdoor game this year?

What if this season, or more realistically next season, the Islanders were to host the Rangers at Citi?   That could be a really fun event (I would go) and might be one way to see if Islanders fans can be motivated to visit 126th street.

Perhaps a Citi Cup?   Maybe involve the Devils…the defending champion hosts the team that was left out the season before….so the winner of the 2011/12 NYR/NYI games plays the NJD is 2012/13.

Perhaps a de-motivator is that SNY doesn’t air hockey.   Does anyone know how long the Cablevision/Islanders deal is?   While we’re on the subject, can some bored politician make Cablevision offer MSG in HD to Fios?

Would you attend Rangers vs. Islanders at Citi Field?

13 Replies to “Hockey at Citi Field”

  1. You have a mistake in the piece. You list Islanders fans as if it is plural… the way they are playing today, it should be singular and yes he would show up if there were a game.

  2. I regard the Mets as a NYC team. The Islanders represent some other city. If anyone’s going to host, it should be the Rangers.

  3. Queens is part of Long Island. The Islanders were one of the first teams to talk about an outdoor game, five years ago. Trying to set up a game with the rag$ (hockey’s evil empire) at Yankee Stadium, before it became Taxpayer Field Bronx (TFB). The NHL then took the idea and ran with it, taking the credit for themselves.

    And actually, there have been several Friday nights each year that SNY, through its partners upstate, have aired college hockey games, so SNY has shown hockey. As for the Isles deal with Dolanvision, I am pretty sure it has at least another 20 years.

  4. FYI the MSG/Islanders deal is good until the year 2030. That’s right. 2030. Or until the team moves to Kansas City. The SkillSets aren’t coming near the Islanders.
    And of course there will NEVER be a outdoor network NHL TV game with the Islanders in it. The Rangers are NY’s hockey team. Original Six, you know.
    And let the free market decide the FiOS thing re: MSG HD. Bored politicians have other, more worrisome things on their mind then the very small NBA/NHL constituency.

  5. the NHL, for a showcase game, wouldn’t want two teams from the same market involved, let alone the low-rated Islanders (a Winter Classic event in the NYC area would have to include the Rangers vs. an Out of Market team, and the only place to play it without another area team screaming for home field is Yankee Stadium, which has a football bowl game conflict for the next several years). I do like the idea of an area series, but having a home ice field for each team might be very expensive (at least a neutral ice field that’s not slanted one way or another is an option in theory).

  6. Queens [as is Brooklyn] yes is part of the land mass that is Long Island, but as a political entity they are two of the 5 boroughs of New York City … home of the New York Rangers. The Fishsticks are of Nassau and Suffolk Counties … even see it in their logo, which is not of the full Long Island but of the Island cut off at the Nassau-Queens border.
    If Wang can’t get it up over the cruddy Lighthouse Project … Kansas City or Quebec City would certainly love to have those Isles.
    NHL really can’t expand as the big money just isn’t there. They can only move around the chess pieces.
    See us in 5 years when the Islanders’lease runs out in 2015.

  7. TV ratings would not allow a Rangers/Islanders game to take place…no one outside this market, and this market would barely care…would watch that game.

    That game would be a nationally televised game.

    The reason you dont get MSG in HD on Fios is that legally MSG is required to transmit on all stations in a market (not just MSG but all stations, they are not obligated to provide HD content) The Dolans who own the Rangers, Knicks and MSG also own Cablevision and will not just give the HD channel to Fios, its a chip in their corner for diehard NYR, NYK fans to stay with or jump to CV.

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