from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

If you go to an outdoor game and don't get caught up in the excitement, you're kind of soulless.

All of that said, there's one bad thing about next year's schedule, as reported by TSN's Darren Dreger: the last two games. They are Pittsburgh at Chicago on March 1 and Ottawa at Vancouver the next day.

That's six and seven days, respectively, after the conclusion of the Sochi Olympics. Look at the rosters of those four teams. Things can change, but how many players are going to Russia? You could make a good argument for at least 30.

It seems overly risky to send those players halfway across the world, bring them back and thrust them into unfamiliar surroundings. Every single one of them will want to play in both the Olympics and the outdoor game. I get that. But someone should be asking, "Is this really a good idea?"

more