Florida Panthers to host 2026 Winter Classic at loanDepot Park in Miami

The Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers are hosting an outdoor game next season.

That entire sentence is a lot to digest.

News of the outdoor game at loanDepot Park, home of the MLB’s Miami Marlins, has been out for several weeks now, and I’ve been digging around in the time since to find out more info.

Here’s what I’ve got so far.

Multiple sources have confirmed that the Panthers will be hosting the 2026 Winter Classic. It will not be a Stadium Series game, but instead the big kahuna of NHL outdoor games.

This will be the 17th Winter Classic, with Florida becoming the 17th different team to participate.

It will also be by far the southernmost location to host the Winter Classic, or any outdoor game.

The Panthers are currently one of only three teams to never have played in an outdoor game, along with the Utah Hockey Club and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are hosting a Stadium Series game on March 1.

As for Florida’s opponent, that’s been much more difficult to lock down.

It isn’t going to be the Tampa Bay Lightning, because the Bolts will be hosting their own outdoor game next season, news reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period earlier this week.

One source also poured cold water on the suggestion that either the New York Rangers or the Boston Bruins would face off against the Cats despite both being solid choices as Panthers rivals and large American hockey markets that generally draw large television audiences.

So then who could it be?

In terms of divisional matchups, the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres aren’t very exciting opponents, and each will have played in an outdoor game in recent years.

It’s probably not likely that any of the Canadian divisional teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, will be marketed with the Panthers in a Winter Classic. The only past occurrences that a Canadian team played in the Winter Classic was in 2016 when Montreal played Boston at Gillette Stadium and in 2014 when Toronto faced Detroit at Michigan Stadium.

Outside the division, the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals are intriguing possibilities, but they have been in a combined 10 outdoor games between them, and each have played in one in the past three seasons.

What about a seventh outdoor game for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins?

Whoever Florida ends up facing, the news is set to be announced on Wednesday night, per source.

That’s when the Panthers will face Utah for the first time ever, with the game being broadcast nationally on TNT.

It’s a great time and place to make a big, Panthers-related announcement, dontcha think?

Stay tuned.

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