We knew it was coming a few days ago, but NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made it official at a press conference today from Columbus during the NHL All-Star Weekend.

BREAKING: The Colorado @Avalanche will host The Detroit #RedWings in the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series at Coors Field on Feb. 27th, 2016.

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 24, 2015

February 27, 2016 is a Saturday, BTW.

So it's not the March 26th date I was hoping for (the 19th anniversary of the Fight Night at the Joe game), so there's already a bit of magic siphoned out of this matchup. Traditionally, Stadium Series games also don't have alumni matchups either, so I'm wondering if the NHL will have their shit together enough to at least try to organize a "friendly" meetup between now-retired players who were such bitter rivals.

Who are we kidding, though? Colorado's captain, Gabriel Landeskog was four years old when that game happened. Matt Duchene, who grew up an Avs fan was only six.

We'll keep our eyes and ears open about other news regarding this game. Whatever your feelings on this rivalry or the use of outdoor NHL games aside, I'm going. I don't care.