Rod Gilbert is 76 years old and hasn’t played in the NHL since 1978, so he never came close to participating in a Winter Classic. But the former Ranger and hockey Hall of Famer would love to have had the opportunity — when he was young enough to handle it.
“I did play [outside], when I was young and vivacious,” he said before Monday’s game between the Rangers and Sabres at Citi Field. “I grew up in Montreal, and I just talked to my brother and he said it’s, like, 15 below zero there. I said, ‘Do you remember when we used to go out in that?