Leafs and Sabres to face off outdoors in Hamilton, Ontario

The NHL has announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres will face off in the 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on March 13th at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.

Check it out:

“We are excited to announce that we will be presenting another Tim Hortons Heritage Classic this season,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement on the NHL's official website. “When the Toronto Maple Leafs meet the Buffalo Sabres at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, we again will honor Canada’s preeminent role in the history of our game while renewing a great and longstanding NHL rivalry. In addition, by inviting the first U.S.-based team to a Heritage Classic, we will celebrate the greater Golden Horseshoe region as the home of so many fans of both the Leafs and Sabres.”

Purely as a hockey fan... I can't wait for this event. 

Last year's game at Lake Tahoe was cool and all, but without spectators it just wasn't the same as past outdoor NHL games. My only question is with the game being in Hamilton, who will be the home team? Sure, Hamilton is in Ontario but I believe it's actually closer geographically to Buffalo than it is to Toronto. If my memory serves me correctly it's about an hour either way to Toronto/Buffalo from Hamilton.

“The Toronto Maple Leafs are proud to participate in the 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™,” said Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan. “We’re excited at the opportunity to play outdoors again and to bring this great divisional rivalry outside in front of our two devoted fanbases in Hamilton.”. 

“It’s an honor to play in the Heritage Classic game. It will be an incredible atmosphere and we are thrilled to be able to play the Maple Leafs in this special event. Many of us fell in love with hockey while playing on the pond or in backyards, so this will give us a chance to get back to our roots while celebrating the game of hockey.” Kevyn Adams, General Manager, Buffalo Sabres.

Whoever wears the home blue jerseys though is largely inconsequential. Again, I'm just happy to see some outdoor hockey in front of real fans again. It feels like it's been a decade since we've seen anything like this from the NHL.