During the 2023 NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, some big news was announced for next year. The 2024 Winter Classic now has a location and teams with the Vegas Golden Knights visiting the Seattle Kraken at TMobile Park.
I believe this game has a lot to get excited about. It is a new location, with one team participating in their first outdoor game, and both teams have potential to be playing really well.
An epic battle of the expansion teams in the 2024 Winter Classic: Reaction
The Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights are the two latest expansion teams in the history of the league. They are going to be grouped together for a long time and this game has the potential to really spark interest in a Kraken vs Golden Knights rivalry.
I also think this game is going to be really good. You have Jack Eichel, Robin Lehner and Alex Pietrangelo in Vegas, and on the other side, you have a young team with Matthew Beniers, Shane Wright, and Yanni Gourde.
The @NHL's premier outdoor game is coming to @TMobilePark on January 1st, 2024 where the league's two newest teams will take part in a three-day celebration of hockey's roots.
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) January 2, 2023
Read more about the #WinterClassic → https://t.co/mkPMa8lOeJ pic.twitter.com/3e6czsfFjE
Both of these teams are expected to be in the playoffs this upcoming season. While Vegas is more of a lock than Seattle, the Kraken are putting on a good effort this season and have really shined in their sophomore season.
Next season the Kraken are going to have Shane Wright and Matthew Beniers both another year older. They also are going to have a more established team and an electric crowd cheering them on against one of the best teams in the league in Vegas. This matchup is out of the box from what we have seen in the past, and I am excited.
It is a little old seeing the NHL return to the same stadium with two of the teams that have been in a lot of these outdoor games. That is what we saw yesterday when the Bruins and Penguins faced off. To see the league now jump to have the Kraken play in their first outdoor game while hosting one of the newer teams in the league makes this really exciting.
This will also be the first Winter Classic with a Pacific Division team participating. Up to this point, Pacific Division teams have played in Stadium Series games and different events here or there but never a Winter Classic, making the jump out West and including two teams from the Pacific Division is a big jump, and I cannot wait to watch it play out.
With the Kraken hosting, I am predicting a 4-2 Kraken victory, with Shane Wright scoring two goals for Seattle! Now I’ll make sure to check back on this a year from now to see if I was right.