After the Blue Jackets host the Red Wings in a Stadium Series matchup at Ohio Stadium later this season, there will be only two NHL franchises left that haven’t played in an outdoor game – the Panthers and Utah. The former will be coming off the list quickly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday’s Winter Classic broadcast that the league would announce an outdoor game in Miami in the next couple of weeks.
“It’s going to be a little unusual,’’ Bettman said (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). “It’s going to be a little more unique. Some people will think we’ve lost our minds. We’re not ready to announce it, but we will soon. And it’s going to be good.’’
The game will take place at LoanDepot Park, which hosts MLB’s Miami Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, which will presumably be necessary to keep an ice sheet intact in a South Florida climate that routinely sees 70-degree highs in winter.
Those hoping to see an intra-state rivalry matchup between the Panthers and Lightning will be out of luck, Richards reports. That matchup “appears to be off the table,” but the Lightning will still likely be getting their second outdoor game in franchise history in 2025-26 or 2026-27, sources tell Richards – this time on their turf at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, Richards reports that the Panthers’ visiting club will mark the sixth outdoor game appearance for the Bruins or Rangers.
If the roof at LoanDepot Park remains closed throughout the game in addition to the rink-building process, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. The 2014 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was played with the retractable roof deployed due to rain in the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not necessarily temperature, would likely decide whether the Panthers could play with the roof open.
Sources told Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet last month that Florida would likely get an outdoor game next season.
It is not an outdoor game if the roof is on. This is stupid
Someone is Bettman
The NHL outdoor games concept proves that there is a sucker born every minute.
It’s a cool concept, but the market has been saturated. What used to be a cool one person has been watered down with various versions of outdoor games and stadium series events.
They gonna play on jet skis ?
Interesting concept to have an “outdoor game” in Miami but a retractable roof will be necessary especially down there. A Panthers/Bruins matchup will be a worthy outdoor match at least if that’s the matchup. At the very least, it will be vastly better than the Blues/Blackhawks matchup yesterday. Who wants to watch a middling team (Blues) & a bottom of the barrel team (Blackhawks) do battle on a “big hockey event” when neither are playoff bound.
As for Tampa getting an outdoor game, it can work as Tampa does typically get colder weather especially in January & February. They should make it a night game at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa played one outdoor game in Nashville I believe it was at & won. I’m curious who Tampa will face in their next outdoor game.
NHL should be using a fair system for awarding these outdoor game opportunities. Why does it have to be the same handful of teams again and again? You would think they would want to even it out and support all of the hockey markets. Glad the Cats are FINALLY getting an outdoor game but missed opportunity by not making it a “Battle of Florida”. That would be a GREAT outdoor game.