Widespread appeal of Calder Trophy finalist Bedard, coupled with the upcoming Blackhawks 100th year anniversary, made the game a natural for the Chicago Cubs' iconic North Side ballpark.

Tickets for the NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field will go on sale on Friday, June 14 at 10 a.m. CT. 

The second NHL game ever at the iconic 110-year-old home of the Chicago Cubs is set for Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. It's returning to the ballpark for the first time since New Year's Day 2009. 

Then it was Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews who led the Blackhawks, albeit in a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. This time, it was Connor Bedard's presence — and box-office and TV ratings appeal — that led to the Blackhawks pushing for and the NHL approving another outdoor game on Chicago's North Side.

The Winter Classic also will kick off activities leading to the Blackhawks' 100th anniversary in the NHL. The Original Six team entered the league in 1926, meaning the 2024-25 season will be its 99th.

Tickets for the Winter Classic will be available via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL, on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticketmaster is the only official marketplace of the NHL, and guarantees fans will get the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app.

Blackhawks players are looking forward to skating at Wrigley. Center Jason Dickinson played in a Winter Classic for the Dallas Stars at the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day 2020 versus Nashville and loved it. See following video.

Blackhawks and Blues Longtime Rivals

The upcoming Winter Classic will mark the seventh outdoor game and fifth Winter Classic appearance for the Blackhawks, and the third Winter Classic and outdoor game appearance for the Blues. The game is a rematch of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, a 4-1 Blues win. 

Blackhawks and Blues rivalry has spanned 331 regular-season games since St. Louis entered the league in its first expansion, in 1967-68. Chicago leads the all-time regular season series at 155-130-46. The longtime division foes have met 12 times in the playoffs, with the Blackhawks winning eight series.

The Winter Classic builds on a tradition the NHL established of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year. The first was between the Penguins and Sabres on a snowy day in Buffalo on Jan. 1, 2008. The 2024 game at Wrigley will be 42nd NHL regular-season outdoor contest. For a complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games, click here.

Built in 1914, Wrigley Field is the second-oldest ballpark in the majors and the oldest in the National League. The stadium was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2020 by the U.S. Department of the Interior and is famous for its ivy-covered, brick outfield wall, hand-operated scoreboard, bleachers and iconic marquee at Clark and Addison Streets. 

The park was named Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley Jr., then club's owner, and has been home to the Cubs since 1916. Wrigley Field and its surrounding area were recently upgraded through the 1060 Project, a $1 billion restoration and expansion initiative.