Winter Classic 2015: Capitals unveil new jersey

Entering the new year, the Blackhawks are currently second in the Western Conference with a 25-10-2 record and 50 points, while the Capitals are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 18-11-7 record and 43 points. Both teams feature high-level offenses -- Chicago is third in goals per game, Washington is seventh -- and that means we should be in store for some exciting, back-and-forth action.

These two teams have already met once this season, a 3-2 Capitals victory back on Nov. 7. That loss dropped the Blackhawks to 7-6-1 on the season -- since then, the team has gone 18-4-1. If the Capitals can muster a victory in the cool D.C. breeze, it’ll be an impressive one.

The Chicago Blackhawks unveiled their jersey for the Winter Classic on Wednesday afternoon. Initially teased through a Twitter campaign, the team officially introduced the jersey it will wear against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 1:

Photo credit: Chicago Blackhawks

Washington unveiled the logo and uniforms for the game at Nationals Park, which will take place on New Year’s Day 2015. Here’s what the jersey will look like, courtesy of Russian Machine Never Breaks:

We were all expecting to see red vintage jerseys like the ones the team wore back in the 1970s and 1980, which would have merely been the opposite of the uniforms the team wore as the road team during the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. But they’re going an entirely different direction.

What does this all mean? Let’s break it down:

It’s a new-ish premium cable channel (founded in 2009) with 9.8 million subscribers as of Nov. 2012. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s because it isn’t. According to Epix, they’re available on a fair number of cable providers, but they’re not available (yet) on Comcast, Cablevision and DirecTV.

There’s no doubt that the show felt a little more stale with each passing edition, but that doesn’t make this news any less disappointing. HBO 24/7 represented the only true, uncensored look behind the scenes at life during the NHL regular season, and despite several recent attempts by the NHL’s official production arm to recreate the HBO 24/7 motif, those league-produced documentaries don’t feel anywhere near as real as HBO’s version.

Maybe it’s the swearing. Maybe it’s that we don’t trust the league to give us an authentic look. Maybe it’s the weird narration and the lower production value. Regardless, shows like NHL 36 and NHL Revealed just haven’t been up to par with HBO 24/7.

The NHL officially announced Wednesday what’s been an open secret and a foregone assumption: the 2015 Winter Classic between the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks will be held at Nationals Park in the Nation’s Capital on January 1.

Nationals Park was the only true option all along. The home of MLB’s Washington Nationals, the stadium is the only modern option in the District of Columbia. RFK Stadium, the former home of both the Nationals and Washington’s NFL team, would have provided DC fans with nostalgia, but it’s essentially a run down dump and not really in the condition to host much of anything anymore.

While the location has yet to be confirmed, it appears as though Nationals Park is the frontrunner.

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN and Chris Johnston of Sportsnet both tweeted on Monday afternoon that Nationals Park was the most likely venue for the 2015 Winter Classic:

The rumblings began on Saturday afternoon when Shawn Reznik of The Hockey Writers received word from a source that Philadelphia would be involved in next year’s Winter Classic:

In addition, Eklund of Hockeybuzz cited two sources on Sunday night who said the same thing, via Hockeybuzz:

Leonsis participated in an interview with WTOP where listeners were able to tweet in questions for the owner. When asked about the Winter Classic, Leonsis explained that the decision on a venue was not up to him, via The Washington Post:

The Winter Classic is a massive spectacle that expands the attendance capacity of a game held in an arena. However, despite the increased capacity, teams do not receive an increased take from the gate, according to Leonsis:

The Washington Capitals officially announced Saturday morning that they’ll host the 2015 Winter Classic, but there are still plenty of questions -- namely, where will the game be played and who will the Capitals play?

Nationals Park, home of MLB’s Washington Nationals, seems like the obvious choice given its location in the District of Columbia, not nearby Maryland or Virginia, and an already-existing relationship between Nats owner Mark Lerner and Caps owner Ted Leonsis.

The NHL will hold four or five outdoor games during the 2014-15 regular season, according to Chris Botta of the Sports Business Journal on Friday afternoon. Botta cites a source who states that the league will have the Winter Classic, three stadium series games, and potentially another Heritage Classic.

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Owner Ted Leonsis is going to officially confirm the event during the Capitals Convention on Saturday. The team tweeted earlier this week that Leonsis was going to make a major announcement at the event, which led many to speculate that it meant the team was going to host the Winter Classic. Speculation was further fanned by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman previously promising that Washington would host the event in the near future.

Carrera cites a league source who stated that Leonsis will be announcing the franchise’s procurement of the NHL’s primary outdoor game, but writes that an opponent and location have yet to be selected. Carrera speculates that Nationals Park, the home of the Washington Nationals, is a likely location as team owner Mark Lerner is a minority partner in Leonsis’ Monumental Sports and Entertainment. The NHL has previously expressed interest in using football stadiums for the game because sight lines are better and more people can attend the contest.