NHL partners with Smashing Pumpkins and Chance the Rapper

This just in, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has announced that Chicago based artists Chance The Rapper and Smashing Pumpkins will lead the entertainment for the Winter Classic scheduled for New Year's Eve at Wrigley Field between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.

Check it out:

From the NHL:

Chicago born and raised, Chance The Rapper is known worldwide for his iconic mixtapes, including Acid Rap and Coloring Book. The Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist, whose portrayal of NHL rinkside reporter Lazlo Holmes in a Saturday Night Live sketch was a cultural phenomenon, will return to the rink to headline an intermission performance during the Blues-Blackhawks outdoor game in his hometown. Chance’s current project, Star Line, is an interdisciplinary endeavor that combines art, music, cinematography and community. It showcases collaborative works with esteemed fine artists from both The Continent and The Diaspora.

Alternative rock juggernauts The Smashing Pumpkins, who formed as a band in Chicago and have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, will kick start the festivities at the Discover NHL Winter Classic with a performance before the game begins.

Portions of both performances, which will be produced by NHL Entertainment, will be featured in the game broadcast.

Look... as a 40 something hockey fan am I going to pretend to know anything about Chance The Rapper? Nope. But I do know his name and that he's a popular recording artist. In my books that's a step up for the NHL, a league that has trotted out nameless, faceless acts for decades now. 

As for the Pumpkins... Hell Yeah.

I'll admit that I haven't kept up with Billy Corgan's music over the past two decades or so but the Pumpkins had some stellar albums in the 90s and they could play a greatest hits set that's up their with some of the best bands of their generation. Now I just wanna see Gary Bettman get up there and belt out 'Zero' on the big stage.