Sens to host rival Canadiens for Ottawa’s first outdoor NHL game

The Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens are headed for the great outdoors.

It won’t be on Parliament Hill as originally planned, but the NHL has called a news conference for 11 a.m. Friday to confirm the Senators and Habs will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first league game in Ottawa with an outdoor contest at TD Place, which is expected to be held on Dec. 17.

While it took longer than expected, the paperwork is in place and with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in Ottawa to attend Mayor Jim Watson’s breakfast Friday morning, the timing is perfect to announce the first outdoor game in the nation’s capital.

Not only will Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, GM Pierre Dorion and captain Erik Karlsson be on hand for the media gathering, they’ll be accompanied by Habs owner Geoff Molson along with officials from the federal government and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

The NHL, the city, the Senators and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group have spent months working on the details of the game, which will celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first NHL game played in Ottawa between the Senators and Canadiens on Dec. 19, 1917.

The game will be held two days earlier so it falls on a Sunday and only three weeks after the CFL’s Grey Cup is played at TD Place, which will be expanded to include 34,000 seats.

It’s not yet known if there will be an alumni game between the Senators and Habs as part of the weekend. It hasn’t been ruled out, but Melnyk has also mentioned the possibility of holding a skills contest and a determination on that front may be made at a later date.

Melnyk wanted the game held on Parliament Hill, but officials from the government refused to give the Senators permission to hold the it there because of the cost and logistics involved in trying to build a rink, plus the expensive temporary seating for 30,000 to 40,000 fans.

Once government officials decided they wouldn’t allow the game to go ahead on the Hill, Melnyk gave his blessing to the league to negotiate with the people from OSEG to have the game at TD Place because he knows how badly people in the community want to see this game.

“We’re all in (for the game),” Melnyk told reporters last month.

Melnyk is trying to ensure this isn’t just another outdoor game held in a stadium and wants to make the weekend special. The NHL handles all the logistics for the event and the Senators will be able to help use it as part of their package to sell season tickets.

The price of tickets for this game will be interesting because, by NHL standards for an outdoor game, it will be a small seating capacity. The lowest attended outdoor game was Oct. 16 in Winnipeg, when 33,240 watched the Jets face off against the Edmonton Oilers at Investors Group Field.

While people believe this will be a big money-maker for the Senators, that’s not necessarily the case. The NHL gives the Senators the average gate for what they’d get if the Canadiens were at home for a regular season game, but the Senators do gain some profit on merchandise.

Let’s face it, though, this can be a good marketing tool for the Senators.

So get ready Ottawa hockey fans, you’re going to get your chance to the see the Senators and Habs face off with no roof over their heads.