The Winter Classic has been a long-standing tradition in hockey, but the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field will be the first time the game is set to be played on New Year’s Eve.
In previous years, the NHL Winter Classic was part of New Year’s Day festivities — or on January 2 when the holiday fell on a Sunday — a tradition the NHL has held to since the event’s inception in 2008. So, why the change for this event? Well, you can look to college football’s domination of the holiday for that. According to the