Will Bundesliga stadiums host the NHL Winter Classic in the future? A report by Sportsnet suggests that it might be possible.

The NHL may have saturated the market on outdoor games. With a one-to-two other games played outdoors each year in the NHL Stadium Series — in addition to the trends in broadcast television viewership, the Winter Classic has seen a steady decline over the past ten seasons.

Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks was the 15th edition of the annual outdoor game held by the NHL. While the event is always a joyous occasion for the host city, the game between the Blues and Blackhawks caught the fewest number of eyes in its history.

For the first time, the NHL's annual winter classic will be played on New Year's Eve. But the matchup is familar, with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues.

St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before the Winter Classic. He looked at the growing crowd soaking in the festive atmosphere.

Classic is an annual hockey game that has taken place since 2008. Learn more about its history, all-time results and other stats now.

There were several other factors that likely affected viewership. The game featured two of the league's lower-tier teams (in fact the Blackhawks have the NHL's worst record), it was a blowout — the Blues won 6-2 — and the event had been played at Wrigley before so that novelty factor was gone.

This year's NHL Winter Classic was an absolute dud, recycling two teams (the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues) that have already played in multiple outdoor games in a venue (Wrigley Field) that has already been used.

The New Year’s Eve matchup drew fewer than one million viewers. The post NHL Shouldn’t Panic About Worst-Ever Winter Classic Ratings appeared first on Front Office Sports.