Red Wings to Visit Maple Leafs Outdoors in 2017

The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will meet outdoors in 2017 the National Hockey League announced on Wednesday.

The matchup, dubbed the Centennial Classic and scheduled for Toronto’s BMO Field on January 1, 2017, is a rematch of the 2014 Winter Classic. The Maple Leafs won that game, 3-2, in a snowstorm-delayed shootout at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium.

While the first outdoor meeting between the teams set an NHL record for attendance with 105,491 attendees, BMO Field – home of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League – will be the smallest venue to host an outdoor NHL game with a capacity of 30,991.

The game will kick off the NHL’s celebration of its centennial. Founded in 1917, the host Maple Leafs are one of two teams from the league’s first season still active.

It will be Detroit’s fourth outdoor game and third on the road. Following a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Denver’s Coors Field last month, the Red Wings are 2-0-1 outdoors. The Maple Leafs will be making their second outdoor appearance.