Panthers legend Luongo drops puck to open 2026 Winter Classic

The southernmost game ever played in NHL history certainly brought the pregame heat.

At the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, players were introduced at loanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, as four-time Latin Grammy Award winner Luis Fonsi belted out his hit "Despacito," joined by the Florida Panthers Ice Crew.

Pyrotechnics flew just after the loanDepot Park retractable roof opened, giving NHL on TNT viewers a bird's eye view of the Winter Classic.

And it wouldn't be a major event for the Florida Panthers without Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo, who is now a special assistant to general manager Bill Zito.

With both New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller and Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov sidelined due to injury, Luongo dropped the puck between Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck.

Temperature at puck drop was 63 degrees, making it the second warmest outdoor game on record. The 2016 Stadium Series at Coors Field in Denver between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings was 65 degrees.