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NHL Game On Parliament Hill? Ottawa's Mayor Certainly Hopes So

He is nothing if not ambitious.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson wants to do something special to mark Canada's 150th birthday, and the 100th anniversary of the NHL's first two games.

His idea? Host an outdoor hockey game right here.

Watson called for a face off on Parliament Hill, or elsewhere, in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

We want to host an NHL outdoor game as part of the celebrations for Canada's 150th in 2017! It would also be the 100th...

Posted by Jim Watson on Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Discussions have already taken place about potentially hosting the game before the seats of Canada's MPs and senators, the mayor told TSN 1200 radio.

"It's not a far-fetched idea — it's physically possible," he said.

"You probably wouldn't be able to have as many spectators because you wouldn't have the space and there are obviously security concerns, but my understanding is that the federal groups that are responsible have said it is a possibility."

Watson has already met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about hosting an outdoor game in the nation's capital in 2017, but nothing has been confirmed yet, Ottawa West News reported.

The NHL currently hosts three kinds of outdoor games: the Winter Classic, the Stadium Series, and the Heritage Classic, the latter of which usually pits Canadian teams against each other in old-school sweaters.

If another game happened in 2017, it would be a repeat of one of the very first NHL games, played between the Senators and the Canadiens on Dec. 19, 1917.

Montreal won that game 7-4, so revenge could be on Ottawa's mind — almost 100 years later.

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