Can you imagine an Original Six team like the Bruins on South Beach for New Year’s in 2026 … to play the Winter Classic?
According to reports, it’s on the table. Florida Hockey Now reported earlier this week the Florida Panthers are likely to host an outdoor game next season at LoanDepot Park, home of MLB’s Miami Marlins.
It’s not entirely clear at this point if this means the Winter Classic will be held in Miami or an additional Stadium Series game. However, Miami certainly would fit the criteria laid out by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who said in Chicago for this year’s Winter Classic that the next location would be “unusual,” “unique” and would leave “some people (thinking) we’ve lost our minds.”
As to who the Panthers will host for the “outdoor” game, the Bruins and New York Rangers are currently the most likely options, according to the report. It sounds like the Rangers are the more likely opponent, based on the reporting, but the mere mention of the Bruins seemingly gives an idea of the league’s thinking.
The Bruins have played five outdoor games in franchise history, the most recent coming at Fenway Park for the 2023 Winter Classic. Four of those five games have come at the Winter Classic with the lone exception being a game at Lake Tahoe in 2021. The Bruins, for what it’s worth, have not played in a Stadium Series game.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning, according to the Florida Hockey Now report, aren’t an option for the Panthers game in Miami. That’s because the Bolts are expected to host their own outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. If the Panthers aren’t going to be involved in that game, the Bruins would make sense for that matchup, too.
An outdoor game in Florida might seem a little crazy, but there is precedent. Dodger Stadium hosted a Stadium Series game in 2014, in addition to outdoor games in Santa Clara, Texas and Nashville. With high temperatures Thursday in Miami forecast for 75 degrees, LoanDepot Park’s retractable roof could come in handy.
Bettman said the league is expected to announce the 2025-26 Winter Classic next week.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images
