NHL introduces The Cocoa Cup for Winter Classic MVP

The NHL Winter Classic will have a new…flavor…this year.

On Saturday, the NHL revealed a trophy that is going to be awarded to the most valuable player of the annual outdoor event. Fitting with the game’s unique setting, the MVP of the New Year’s Day game between the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights will be awarded The Cocoa Cup.

In a very intricate design, the trophy features an enlarged puck, with the Winter Classic logo, “splashing” into a mug of hot chocolate.

With TNT holding the broadcasting rights for this year’s game in the United States, the NHL on TNT logo is wrapped along the side of the cup.

Many fans instantly jumped on social media to voice both praise, and displeasure.

This will be the first kind of reward for an individual at any of the league’s outdoor games.

This year’s Winter Classic is being held at T-Mobile Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners. It is the 34th different venue to hold an outdoor NHL regular season game, and the 11th baseball stadium to feature one of the league’s showcases.

Puck drop between the Kraken and Golden Knights is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. on Monday.

This is the second of four meetings between these two divisional foes. Vegas opened the season on Oct. 10 with a 4-1 win over Seattle on home ice.

The Golden Knights, who got off to such a great start after winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup last spring, are currently battling with the Vancouver Canucks for not just first in the Pacific Division, but for the best record in the NHL.

Seattle is currently fourth in the Pacific, two points out of a Wild Card spot.