The NHL's two newest teams are getting their first chance to play in the NHL Winter Classic, as the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights faceoff against the Seattle Kraken in the 2024 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day.
US: TNT (live TV streaming services) | Max
Canada: SportsNet | TVA Sport
UK: Viaplay
Anywhere: ExpressVPN
The NHL Winter Classic is one of the marquee games of the NHL season, as hockey drops the puck on the new year with an outdoor game. Played since 2008, the Winter Classic takes the NHL to some of the most iconic sport stadiums in North America for a truly special experience.
The event has become so popular that the NHL has added additional outdoor games during the course of its season for what is known as the NHL Stadium Series. But the NHL Winter Classic is still the original and marquee event for professional hockey.
Read on below to get everything you need to know about how to watch the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, including where it is being played and getting a sneak peek at the special uniforms the Golden Knights and Kraken are set to wear.
How to watch 2024 NHL Winter Classic in the US
Already the home of the NHL on TNT's Wednesday night doubleheaders, TNT is continuing its hockey coverage as the broadcast home of the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, though TruTV is also going to simulcast coverage of the game.
TNT and TruTV are cable networks, but they are included in most traditional cable/satellite pay-TV subscription packages. The channels are also part of the lineups for many live TV streaming services, including Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. A subscription to any of those services will allow you to watch the 2024 NHL Winter Classic when it is broadcast live.
However, this year there is also a streaming option if you have cut the cord on live TV services. Max has added a live streaming sports feature and for a limited time it is available to all Max subscribers at no additional cost; so, if you subscribe to Max, you can stream the 2024 NHL Winter Classic this year. (FYI, this free access to the live sports on Max runs through February 29, 2024, the it'll only be available as an add-on feature.)
In addition to the game on January 1, there are going to be Road to the Winter Classic specials that air on TNT, TruTV and Max on Wednesday, December 20, and Wednesday, December 27, at 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT, before NHL on TNT pre-game coverage starts.
How to watch 2024 NHL Winter Classic in Canada
The 2024 NHL Winter Classic will be available to Canadian audiences on two networks, with SportsNet carrying the English-language commentary and TVA Sports hosting the French-language broacast.
How to watch 2024 NHL Winter Classic in the UK
If you want to watch the 2024 NHL Winter Classic in the UK (or any NHL action for that matter), then you must be a subscriber to Viaplay.
How to watch the 2024 NHL Winter Classic from anywhere
If you find yourself somewhere where the above options for watching the 2024 NHL Winter Classic are unavailable, there is still a way to tune in for all the hockey action — a virtual private network, or VPN for short.
A VPN lets you change your IP address, meaning you can watch TV shows and events from different regions, so even if you're going to be away from where you would normally watch, you can still access those broadcasts. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
What to know about the 2024 NHL Winter Classic
When is the 2024 NHL Winter Classic?
The 2024 NHL Winter Classic is back on New Year's Day, January 1, as has been tradition. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30 pm ET/10:30 am PT, with the game scheduled to start at 3 pm ET/noon PT.
Who is playing in the 2023 NHL Winter Classic?
This year's two teams playing in the NHL Winter Classic are the two newest teams to the league, the Vegas Golden Knights, who came into the league in 2017, and the Seattle Kraken, whose first season was the 2021.
Since coming into the league, the Golden Knights have been one of the best teams in the league. They have won three division titles and made the playoff five times, including winning the Stanley Cup just last year. They are continuing their winning ways this season, as they are tied for the most points in the league as of December 29. They are led by Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault on offense, while their backend is held by quality defenders in Shea Theodore, Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb. Between the pipes they have two strong goalie options in Adin Hill, who they won the Cup with last year and is currently posting a 1.93 goals against average, and Logan Thompson, who is quite respectable with 2.80 goals against average.
The Kraken, meanwhile, made their first playoff appearance in the 2022-2023 season, but have had a bit of a regression this season as they have won just 13 of their 36 games, though they are still only three points out of a playoff spot more than a quarter of the way through the season. Their best players this season have been wingers Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn, however the Kraken are one of the worse goal-scoring teams in the league. When it comes to goaltending, they are about league average.
Where is the 2024 NHL Winter Classic?
The 2024 NHL Winter Classic is heading to the Pacific Northwest, as Seattle is hosting the annual event. Specifically, the game is being played at T-Mobile Park, which is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners.
This is the furthest west that the NHL Winter Classic was been played in its history (the only further west the NHL could go is Vancouver).
Vegas Golden Knights 2024 NHL Winter Classic jersey
For this Western Conference showdown in the NHL Winter Classic, the Vegas Golden Knights went old school, and by that we mean the Old West. According to the team's website, the Vegas Golden Knights' Winter Classic jersey draws its inspiration from the cowboy era of the 1910s, imagining what a hockey jersey may have looked like in those years.
Check out a promo video for the Vegas Golden Knights' Winter Classic uniform right here:
Seattle Kraken 2024 NHL Winter Classic jersey
The Kraken's 2024 Winter Classic jersey is an homage to hockey history. The team may not have any direct link to the past, but the stripe design is reminiscent of uniforms from the early 20th century, which include the first US team to ever win the Stanley Cup, the Seattle Metropolitans. Other things, like the Kraken logo, are tweaked just a bit, including adding "Kraken" within the logo.
Take a look at their promo video for the jersey right here:
