Winter Classic puts spotlight on Florida's rise as home for hockey

MIAMI – The Florida Panthers are used to playing on the NHL’s biggest stages.

They’ve made three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, winning the past two, and hosted the NHL All-Star Game twice, including as recently as 2023.

The Panthers will experience something new to them and their home state, though, when they host the New York Rangers in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park on Friday (8 p.m. ET; HBO Max, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS).

With the retractable roof open at the home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, it will be the first outdoor game in the Panthers’ 32-season history and the first to be played in Florida. A second outdoor game in the Sunshine State will quickly follow when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Feb. 1.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” forward Brad Marchand said following the Panthers’ practice Thursday. “Florida has been very fortunate the last number of years between Tampa and Florida here with the excitement that the two teams have brought to this state, the amount of Stanley Cups and different events that are happening here. The amount of love for this game that has grown here is pretty incredible.”

Marchand played in three previous outdoor games with the Bruins and understands well the significance of staging one here. The 37-year-old has seen the transformation of the South Florida market during his 17 NHL seasons and witnessed the passion for hockey here firsthand since being traded to the Panthers on March 7 and helping them win their second consecutive Cup championship last season.

“You used to come down here and a lot of opposing teams would kind of take over the building,” Marchand said. “And now it doesn’t matter where you go, the fan support is unbelievable, and this is just going to add to it. The two outdoor games that we play here, between here and Tampa, are just going to add more excitement, more love for the game. It’s going to give another opportunity for people to grow the sport.

“… It’s just a different level of excitement and a different insight into what we get to grow up with as kids being able to play pond hockey in the outdoors in the winter. So, it’s a special way for people to continue to grow the love for the game.”

The Panthers, who played at Miami Arena from 1993 to 1998 before moving to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, have helped with that growth. Hockey registration in Florida has increased 49.63 percent between the Panthers’ inaugural season in 1993-94 and the 2024-25 season, according to USA Hockey. That includes an increase of 7.97 percent in overall hockey registration from 2023-24, when the Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time, to 2024-25.

Last season, there were 22,888 registered hockey players in Florida, including 1,876 female players and 27 Division 1 high school teams. Hockey registrations among girls and women increased 13.01 percent from 2023-24 to 2024-25 and 10.28 percent overall among players age 10 or younger during that span.

Between the Lightning, who won the Cup in 2020 and 2021 and lost in the Cup Final in 2022, and the Panthers, a team from Florida has been in the Cup Final the past six seasons. Having two outdoor games in Florida – the one at loanDepot park will be the southernmost in NHL history – will potentially spark more interest.

“It just feels big,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I remember coaching games in Miami 30 years ago when the rink was slush. That rink (at loanDepot park) is 10 times as good as the rink we played NHL games on in that old building down here. (That’s) how much the game has grown that you can have such a huge event.

“And, truly, credit to the National Hockey League. I know sometimes we’re in the business of complaining. What an incredible show that’s put on and the sheer number of people that have to work very, very hard to make this thing. They’ve got this thing down.”

The Panthers players were wide-eyed as they walked out from the Marlins dugout to the ice for their practice Thursday, noticing details such as palm trees and beach and lifeguard chairs in left field and an ice rink in right field.

“It’s not every year – maybe playing in Boston it seems like every year – but for most of the League it’s not every year you get an opportunity to go through something like this,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said.

“So, I think you have to take it all in. It’s not the League’s first rodeo. They seem to know what they’re doing and how to put on a good show, and to be a part of it, is pretty special.”

Maurice coached in two previous outdoor games with the Winnipeg Jets – the 2016 Heritage Classic against the Edmonton Oilers at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the 2019 Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. The game-time temperature was 27 degrees Fahrenheit in Regina. The temperature is expected to be in the low 60s or high 50s at puck drop in Miami on Friday.

So, this will be different for Maurice, but no less enjoyable.

“It’s an incredible experience for everybody,” Maurice said. “I’d like to say I’m proud to be a part of it, like I had nothing to do with it, but I’m really enjoying the idea that the Florida Panthers – and we give credit to the Tampa Bay Lightning too, as much as that hurts us – but hockey in Florida is powerful, and because of it, there’s fan interest.

“So, there’s a value to the League. It makes the League, I think, look really good to have these games in Florida. They’re kind of showing off their product a little bit, so I think it’s great.”