It will be the first NHL outdoor game in Florida and first involving the Panthers. (Photo of Luis Gutierrez / Norte Photo / Getty Images)
(Norte Photo via Getty Images)
The Florida Panthers are hosting the winter classic 2026 next season against New York Rangers at the Retractable Loandepot Park in Miami, NHL announced on Wednesday. The game will take place on January 2, 2026.
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“It will be a little unusual,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman last week before the official announcement. “It will be a little more unique, some people will think that we have lost their heads. … and it will be good. ''
The winter classic 2026 will mark the first time that the NHL will play an “outdoor” game in Florida. It will also be the first implying the panthers, leaving the Utah Hockey Club – formerly the coyotes of Arizona – as the only team to never participate in the event. The Chicago Blackhawks pave the way with seven appearances after their participation in the winter classic of this season in Wrigley Field.
In the press release, Bettman cited the recent series of Stanley Cups won by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers as part of the holding of the classic in Florida, as well as the growth of youth and hockey of the school.
“NHL outdoor matches in the Sunshine State? Never let our league say is willing to accept a challenge,” said Bettman.
No intra-state match against lightning
The rangers will serve as visitors in the Stadium series game, which will let a lot wonder why the NHL has not been with the natural rivals of the panthers in the tampa bay lightning. The reason is that the Lightning gets its own game at the Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay of the NFL, on February 1.
“The Panthers and Lightning have told us several times that they and their fans wanted this special experience,” said Bettman. “From Miami on January 2, when the Panthers welcome the Rangers in the NHL Winter Classic Discover, we will organize a celebration of a month of hockey throughout Florida which will peak in Tampa on February 1, when the lightning host the Bruins in the Navy Federal Credit Stadium Series.”
