Miami (AFP) – Ice hockey rinks will join palm trees in sunny Florida next year when the NHL stages unprecedented outdoor games in Miami and Tampa, the league announced on Wednesday. The 2026 NHL Winter Classic will feature the Florida Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, playing host to the New York Rangers on January 2 at the home ballpark of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.
In addition, the Tampa Bay Lightning will host the Boston Bruins in the NHL Stadium Series on February 1, 2026, at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? Never let it be said that our league isn’t willing to accept a challenge,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.
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“The Panthers and Lightning have told us repeatedly that they and their fans want this special experience…we will stage a month-long celebration of hockey throughout Florida that will culminate in Tampa.” The NHL’s first Florida team, the Lightning, began play in the 1992-93 campaign, with the Panthers starting play the following season. Florida clubs have played in each of the past five Stanley Cup finals, with Florida taking the title for the first time in 2024. The Lightning hoisted the trophy in 2020 and 2021.
The Rangers are an NHL-best 5-0-0 in outdoor games while the Panthers will be playing in one for the first time. The Bruins are 4-1 outdoors, while Tampa Bay’s only prior outdoor contest was a 3-2 victory at Nashville in 2022. These will mark the 44th and 45th NHL outdoor games. The Miami venue features a retractable roof, but the NHL has played outside in temperatures as warm as 65 degrees F (18.3 degrees Celsius) when Detroit won 5-3 over Colorado at Denver in 2016.
“In Miami, we have every intention of playing with the roof open, but the retractable roof gives us some options and helps protect our rink build,” said Dean Matsuzaki, NHL executive vice president of events. “In Tampa, the venue is open air and the rink build is much more exposed.” After the Miami game, only the first-season Utah team will not have played in an NHL outdoor contest.
“This is something we have wanted for a long time,” Panthers president Matt Caldwell said. “The last five years, the Stanley Cup has gone through Florida — and hopefully we make it a sixth this year. I think our time has come and we deserve to be in an outdoor game.”
© 2024 AFP
