The Winter Classic is really, really cool and breathtakingly beautiful. It also really sucks.

Don't get me wrong, walking into the Big House and looking around at the enormous crowd as the snow fell and the teams took to the ice is a moment I'll never forget and it was every bit as magical as you expect. Magic doesn't keep you warm, however, and about five minutes into the game you start to question your own intelligence.

The end of the decade has everyone trying to wrap up the previous 10 years in convenient top-10 lists.

The NHL’s previous ten years were tumultuous. The first half of the decade may well be the league’s nadir, while the latter portion of the decade saw the NHL slowly rise from its ashes (unfortunately that doesn’t include the Hamilton Coyotes rising from the ashes of the Phoenix Coyotes). Hopefully, the last five years in the NHL are a harbinger for a successful 2010s. Remember, this is a league that less than 15 years ago was infinitely cooler than the NBA. Gary Bettman ruined it and, unfortunately, that’s reflected in a lot of this list.

Here are the top moments that defined the decade.