from Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail,

The National Hockey League may want to consider including a Canadian team in every Winter Classic, after this year’s New Year’s Day matchup attracted record ratings in Canada and a near record in the United States.

On Friday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said 3.57-million viewers tuned in to the Toronto vs. Detroit game in Ann Arbor, Mich., which ended in a shootout win by the Maple Leafs. That is almost 90 per cent higher than the previous record of 1.91-million viewers, set during the Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game in 2011, which aired in prime time after poor weather forced the postponement of the afternoon-scheduled game.

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