Kraken fans know all too well the Winter Classic is coming to Seattle. We’ve drooled over and depleted the supplies of our team’s jerseys, a modern take on the 1917 Stanley Cup-winning Seattle Metropolitans sweater. We’ve watched ticket prices, checked the weather, and investigated local viewing parties. And some of us are enjoying Road the Winter Classic (broadcast on TNT or available for streaming on Max). Kraken Nation is pumped for our piece of hockey history.
The Winter Classic feels like an old tradition. It harkens back to the memories of kids who live in cold enough climates to play pond hockey in the winter. The Winter Classic itself goes back to 2008 when the Sabres played the Penguins in upstate New York. But the NHL has hosted exhibition and regular-season outdoor games since the ‘50s.
There’s no denying the Winter Classic is a lovely way to spend your New Year’s Day afternoon when you may or may not be hungover and NCAA football bowl games aren’t your jam. Outdoor NHL hockey is all about nostalgia.
But if you want to feel all the hockey nostalgia feels, I recommend a trip to downtown Toronto to see the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The HHOF is in bustling downtown Toronto and the first thing I noticed during my visit was how infuriatingly easy it was to get to. Toronto is well-served with streetcars and a subway and $3.25 CAD on a Presto card gets you anywhere you need to go. Yes, you will notice how polite Canadians are. Yes, you will eventually see someone wearing an Austin Matthews jersey. It might be a law or something.
You enter the HHOF in a basement and pay a reasonable entrance fee of $25 CAD. The first things you see are the most recent history: when I visited, I was first greeted by a display of memories from the then-champion Colorado Avalanche, including Nathan MacKinnon’s sweaty gloves and a bottle of champagne taken from the locker room.
The NHL-specific exhibits take up most of the oxygen, but for good reason: it’s often our first introduction to hockey. You can see large displays dedicated to the giant players of the sport. You can see worn and threadbare sweaters of old, see some of the oldest sticks in existence, and ponder just how tough a player had to be to play with thin, leather padding. There’s also a replica Canadiens locker room and displays of each team and its history.Then you notice the little things: a Bobby Orr lunch box, a copy of NHL Slapshot for Nintendo Wii, signed by #99 himself, and an impressive but terrifying collection of goalie masks from history, all backlit in an eerie blue glow.
Hockey isn’t just a sport of the NHL and the HHOF has you covered there, too. There’s an impressive collection of memorabilia from women’s hockey, including a display highlighting Cammi Granato’s impressive career. Jerseys, medals, and warmup outfits from the Olympics delight in all their colorful glory. Jerseys from international teams all around the world let you marvel at just how far the sport has spread. And because you’re in Canada, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal from the 2010 Olympics is well represented. If you wanted to know what that goal looked like in person, this is your chance.
For the Kraken completionist, the HHOF offers plenty of pieces of Seattle hockey history, both old and new. During their 1917 season, the Seattle Metropolitans enjoyed the first American victory of Lord Stanley’s Cup. That banner hangs today in Climate Pledge arena, and you can see the original collars from the Cup, removed in 1963 but on display, showing the Metropolitans win.
They also have an original Metropolitan’s gear, including a threadbare but brightly colored sweater worn by goaltender Harry “Hap” Holmes, a member of the 1917 Stanley Cup winning team. This sweater was the inspiration behind the Kraken’s Winter Classic jerseys and the history shows.
For the extra sentimental, you can enjoy memorabilia from the Kraken’s first game, October 12, 2021 in Las Vegas. Fun fact: Chris Driedger, was the starting goalie for the Kraken that night.
The real pièce de résistance, though, is the hall of trophies. Located up a staircase, you enter a room that looks like a church. Here, you can see all the silver and jewels, plus all the plaques of players now in the Hall of Fame. Ever wondered how big the Calder trophy is in person? Now’s your chance.
And the Cup! Oh, the Cup.
It’s weirdly emotional to look at the Stanley Cup in person. It’s bright and shiny and, well, it’s RIGHT THERE. Seeing the engravings in person was more emotional than I thought it would be; the intricate detail, the polish, all right in front of you, is almost overwhelming. Now I get why players want to drink beer out of and baptize babies in this thing: it feels magical. If it’s a slow day, you’ll have plenty of time to walk around it and stare. I know I did.
For a few dollars, a photographer will take your picture with the cup, available for printing and purchase in the Sprit of Hockey gift shop on your way out.
There’s no right or wrong way to be a hockey fan and have sports nostalgia. You can watch the Winter Classic at 12 PM Pacific on Monday, January 1, on TNT. You can stream it through TNT with your subscription or on Max. And if you find yourself in the Toronto area, you can visit the Hockey Hall of Fame downtown. I highly recommend you make the trek.
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