MONTREAL - The NHL Heritage Classic is a great exercise in Canadiana, to the point where we wonder why they don't do it more often.
Same goes for the annual New Year's Day Winter Classic, which has an undeniable Canadian flavor even though, historically, it's been played between US-based teams at American venues.
There's tremendous sentimental appeal in the notion of the best hockey players in the world doing what most of us did as kids and what our kids continue to do: bundle up, don the blades and play hockey outdoors on a freezing mid-winter night.
Even a fleeting glimpse from the kitchen window of kids at play on a backyard rink or rural pond can be an uplifting affirmation of the Canadian soul.
And the great thing about seeing it from the kitchen window is that you're not risking frostbite, which was foremost the perils facing anyone who wasn't properly layered for the sub-zero weather in Calgary last night.
There are many ways to embrace winter.
Sitting still for three hours in a minus 20 windchill is not one of them.
Conditions are only exacerbated by suspect ice conditions that delay the proceedings and affect the quality of the game, which is unfair to the players as well as the fans.
Don't get me wrong.
The NHL outdoors is a fantastic event. Magical, even. But on a practical level, one a year is plenty.
