The NHL’s 2026 outdoor Winter Classic game set for… Florida?

Ice hockey. Outside. In Florida.

Next season, that NHL makes it possible – twice.

The NHL announced the Stanley Cup winner on Wednesday Florida The Panthers will host the New York Rangers at LoanDepot Park in Miami – home of baseball’s Marlins – on January 2, 2026 Winter classicwith the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Boston Bruins in a Stadium Series game on February 1, 2026 at Raymond James Stadium.

“Stanley Cups, a string of sell-out games and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey across the state have shown that Florida is a hotbed of hockey,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

“Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? You can never say that our league is not ready to take on a challenge.”

It’s been a long time coming, but the Panthers and Lightning have represented the Eastern Conference in each of the last five Stanley Cup Finals and have built extremely dedicated fan bases.

And both franchises have been asking the NHL to bring an outdoor game or two — in this case two — to the Sunshine State for many years.

The league listened.

“To be able to celebrate these two franchises against great Original Six teams, I think is phenomenal,” said Panthers President Matthew Caldwell. “And I think our time has come. We deserve this outdoor game and can’t wait to host it here locally.”

The Marlins’ ballpark, located about 45 minutes’ drive south of the Panthers’ home arena in Sunrise, can accommodate approximately 37,000 fans. Raymond James Stadium – home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers – can accommodate around 65,000 spectators for most events, although capacity can be increased slightly if necessary.

“We couldn’t be more excited that this groundbreaking event is finally upon us for Bolts Nation and the Tampa Bay community,” said Lightning CEO Steve Griggs.

“This moment has been a long time coming and we are thrilled to see this dream become a reality.”

These won’t be your average outdoor games.

The maximum temperature in Miami on January 2nd this year was 78 Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius.

The high temperature in Tampa last year was 66 F or 19 C on February 1st.

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At these temperatures it’s obviously not a good idea to find ice outside.

And the highest temperature during a game in NHL history was 65°F (18°C) for a game in Denver in 2016, according to league data.

“We understand it’s risky,” said Steve Mayer, NHL president of content and events.

“I think we like it. And it’s not a challenge. It’s actually an opportunity for us.”

The Marlins’ LoanDepot Park has a retractable roof and that will play a big role in getting the stadium ready for hockey. The air conditioning is turned up and the Panthers-Rangers game is played at night with the roof down.

For the Lightning-Bruins game at the open-air stadium in Tampa, the NHL will erect a temporary roof over the ice surface and remove it a few hours before the game begins.

“We want to bring a little winter wonderland to Florida,” Mayer said.

The 2026 games will be the 44th and 45th outdoor regular-season contests in NHL history. The Rangers are 5-0-0 in their previous away games, Boston has won four of their five road games and the Lightning prevailed in their only road game. The Panthers have never played a game like this.

“We can expand our great sport,” said Bill Zito, Panthers general manager and president of hockey operations.

“We have a chance to have 100,000 people out in Florida watching live hockey. This is unthinkable.”

“And the exciting and fun thing about it is that it’s growing. It’s getting bigger. More and more people in Florida are becoming hockey fans.”

&Copy 2025 The Canadian Press