Heritage Classic

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For the golf tournament formerly known as the Heritage Classic, see Verizon Heritage.

For the Heritage Classic motorcycles, see Harley-Davidson.

Heritage Classic

	1	2	3	Total
Montreal	0	2	2	4
Edmonton	0	1	2	3

Date:

November 22, 2003

City:

Edmonton, Alberta

Arena:

Commonwealth Stadium

Attendance:

57,167

The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second NHL outdoor game and the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League, and was modeled after the success of the Cold War game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2001.^[1] The game was given the tagline "A November to Remember".

The event took place in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in front of a crowd of 57,167, despite temperatures of close to -18 °C, -30 °C (-22 °F) with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979 and the 20th anniversary of their first Stanley Cup win in 1984. The CBC television broadcast also set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide. This was the first NHL game broadcast in HD on CBC.

First, the MegaStars game was played between some of the best former players from both clubs. The Oilers were represented by the best players from their 1980s dynasty, led by Wayne Gretzky. The Canadiens were represented by players from their 1970s dynasty, led by Guy Lafleur, and a few members of the 1986 and 1993 championship squads. Both teams were composed of players who had won Stanley Cups with the Oilers or Canadiens, except for the Oilers' first NHL captain Ron Chipperfield and the Canadiens' Russ Courtnall who Réjean Houle said was selected for his speed. Mark Napier was the only player that played for both the Oilers and the Canadiens during his NHL career and won Stanley Cups with both teams. Napier played for the Canadiens during the Heritage Classic game. Mark Messier got special permission from the New York Rangers front office to compete for Edmonton in the game. The MegaStars game consisted of two fifteen-minute halves rather than three 20 minute periods, and was won by the Oilers by a score of 2–0. After the game, Messier called the low-scoring contest "a typical Oilers win," a reference to the numerous high-scoring games of the Oilers' heyday in the 1980s.

The second game was between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal won the game 4 to 3. Richard Zednik of the Montreal Canadiens scored the first goal of the game, and also scored the game-winner. Goalie José Théodore wore a Canadiens tuque over the top of his goalie mask.

The game was released to DVD by the CBC, and included special features such as player interviews.

Given the success of the Heritage Classic, a second regular season outdoor NHL game, the 2008 NHL Winter Classic was played on January 1, 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. With the success of the second outdoor game, a series is projected. The 2009 NHL Winter Classic was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, on January 1, 2009, and the 2010 NHL Winter Classic is scheduled to be played at Fenway Park in Boston, on January 1, 2010. The NHL Winter Classic is planned to be a regular feature of future NHL seasons. The very first NHL game to be played outdoors was on September 28, 1991, when the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. ^[2]

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Preceded by Caesars Palace Las Vegas 1991 outdoor exhibition game Los Angeles Kings v New York Rangers	Outdoor NHL hockey games 2003	Succeeded by 2008 NHL Winter Classic
Preceded by April 23, 1996, Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs (28,183)	NHL attendance record 57,167	Succeeded by 2008 NHL Winter Classic
Preceded by '	NHL TV viewer record 2.747 million	Succeeded by Current

v • d • e NHL Winter Classic

2008	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium

2009	Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field

2010	Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins at Fenway Park

See also	2003 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium • Broadcasters

v • d • e Edmonton Oilers

Oilers	Franchise • NHL expansion draft • Players: NHL · WHA • Coaches • General managers • Seasons • Records • Draft picks • NHL–WHA merger

Owners	Bill Hunter • Nelson Skalbania • Peter Pocklington • Edmonton Investors Group • Rexall Sports

Retired numbers	3 • 7 • 9 • 11 • 17 • 31 • 99

Culture	Heritage Classic • Battle of Alberta • Blue Mile

Arenas	Edmonton Gardens • Rexall Place

Affiliates	Springfield Falcons (AHL) • Stockton Thunder • (ECHL)

Stanley Cup Finals (7)	Won: 1984 • 1985 • 1987 • 1988 • 1990 • Lost: 1983 • 2006

World Hockey Association	1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79

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v • d • e Montreal Canadiens

Franchise	Franchise • History • Original Six • Centennial • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft picks • Award winners • Youppi • The Punch Line • Heritage Classic

Stanley Cups	1916 • 1924 • 1930 • 1931 • 1944 • 1946 • 1953 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1965 • 1966 • 1968 • 1969, 1971 • 1973 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1986 • 1993

Retired numbers	1 • 2 • 4 • 5 • 7 • 9 • 10 • 12 • 12 • 16 • 18 • 19 • 23 • 29 • 33

Arenas	Jubilee Arena • Montreal Arena • Mount Royal Arena • Montreal Forum • Bell Centre

Stanley Cup Finals Appearances (34)	1916 • 1917 • 1919 • 1924 • 1925 • 1930 • 1931 • 1944 • 1946 • 1947 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1971 • 1973 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1986 • 1989 • 1993

Affiliates	Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)

Broadcasters	SRC • RDS

v • d • e 2003–04 NHL season by team

Atlantic	New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh

Northeast	Boston • Buffalo • Montreal • Ottawa • Toronto

Southeast	Atlanta • Carolina • Florida • Tampa Bay • Washington

Central	Chicago • Columbus • Detroit • Nashville • St. Louis

Northwest	Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • Minnesota • Vancouver

Pacific	Anaheim • Dallas • Los Angeles • Phoenix • San Jose

See also	2003 NHL Entry Draft • Heritage Classic • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Transactions

v • d • e Hockey Night in Canada

Related programs	La Soirée du hockey • Howie Meeker's Hockey School • Making the Cut: Last Man Standing

Related articles	CNR Radio • Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission • Peter Puck • Doubleheader • Three stars • Bulls–Blackhawks Finals series of 1992 • Knicks–Rangers Finals series of 1994 • Nets–Devils Finals series of 2003

Commentators	List of commentators • All-Star Game • Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals • Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals • Stanley Cup Finals • Winter Classic

Key figures	Steve Armitage • Scotty Bowman • Don Cherry • Bob Cole • Ward Cornell • Chris Cuthbert • Keith Dancy • John Davidson • Gary Dornhoefer • Elliotte Friedman • Danny Gallivan • John Garrett • Bob Goldham • Bill Hewitt • Foster Hewitt • Dave Hodge • Kelly Hrudey • Jim Hughson • Dennis Hull • Dick Irvin, Jr. • Dan Kelly • Ron MacLean • Brian McFarlane • Wes McKnight • Howie Meeker • Greg Millen • Scott Morrison • Harry Neale • Scott Oake • Walter Pratt • Glenn Resch • Jim Robson • Scott Russell • Craig Simpson • P. J. Stock • John Wells • Don Wittman

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Stanley Cup Finals	1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 (Games 1, 2) • 1986 (Games 3-5) • 1987 (Games 1, 2, 6, 7) • 1988 (Games 3, 4a, 4b) • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009

Winter Classics	2003 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010

Music	"Saturday's Game" • "Happy Motoring" • "The Hockey Theme" • "Canadian Gold" • "The Place'll Be Rockin' 'Cause It's Saturday Night" • "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"

Sponsors	Imperial Oil • Molson • Labatt