The NHL Did Not Invent Outdoor Hockey. They Just Perfected It

The NHL holding its signature Winter Classic game in Miami certainly sounds odd.

It has not snowed in Miami since 1977, so, the region is certainly lacking in the type of frigid weather conditions consistent with an outdoor game on a frozen Canadian pond.

This is not a frozen Canadian pond.

The 17th edition of the NHL Winter Classic is Friday night at LoanDepot Park in Miami, a ballpark that just happens to have a retractable roof.

And air conditioning.

At many of the previous outdoor games, toques and bench heaters were standard equipment.

These amenities will not be needed Friday.

“I think the environment we’re going to be in will be very unique and special,’’ Brad Marchand said. “It’s not often you get to play outdoors in a climate like this. It’s obviously very easy to do in very cold climates where they typically take place, but this will be very unique.”

Miami is the southernmost location of any outdoor ice hockey game in history.

Weather variables aside, outdoor hockey has been one of the most successful NHL marketing ideas ever.

The fact it has come to the south is another tribute to the long-term efforts of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to support hockey in non-traditional markets.

Including Friday, the NHL has held 44 outdoor games.

The Panthers were one of two teams in the NHL to have never played in one. After Friday, it will just be the Utah Mammoth, and it will be in one soon enough.

For those old enough to remember, the very first Winter Classic was held on New Year’s Day 2008 in the Buffalo Bills’ stadium in Orchard Park.

It was as picturesque as anyone could have imagined with snow falling from the sky and sub-freezing temperatures.

A Sidney Crosby overtime goal gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory over Buffalo.

The success of that game set the stage for future Winter Classics in frigid environments.

It is also the game just about everyone remembers.

Ask a member of the Panthers about playing in an outdoor game and most point to Crosby scoring in the Buffalo snow.

WINTER CLASSIC NUMBERS

• 5-0-0: Record of the New York Rangers in NHL outdoor games; no other club has reached four. Rangers Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist won four of them and will be part of TNT’s broadcast team Friday.
• 6: Total outdoor games for the New York Rangers which ties the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins for second-most. The Chicago Blackhawks (7) have the most outdoor appearances.
• 15 – Number of outdoor NHL games that have been played at MLB ballparks, including in Miami which is the fifth straight edition of the event played at an MLB Stadium.

The NHL has gone hard into the nostalgia of the event.

The uniforms are retro — or at least styled as such — with some coaches wearing jackets and fedoras of another era.

Four years before the first Winter Classic, the NHL successfully held an outdoor game in Edmonton pitting the Oilers against the Canadiens.

Temperatures during that game with wind chill were close to -22.

It was the NHL’s first regular season outdoor contest.

There had been previous exhibitions played outdoors in venues such as a state prison, a Las Vegas hotel and the rinks of Atlantic Canada.

With the success of the first Winter Classic, the annual tradition of a Winter Classic in a U.S. city and the Heritage Classic in a Canadian city began.

Paul Maurice has coached in two Heritage Classics while with the Jets and says this is an exciting time for a team.

The warm up to the game has everyone getting just a little more excited as it gets closer.

“It truly is a wonderful thing to experience,’’ Maurice said. “When we get to that event, we want to make sure we take it all in and enjoy it. This is one of the great events for a hockey team. You don’t want to be thinking about your last game. You want to take it all in and enjoy it, put on a good show for the fans. You want to play well for sure. By the time the puck drops, we certainly want to be there mentally, that we are into a hockey game.

“But, it’s not going to look like anything we normally do and for some guys it will be the only one they ever play. You want to make sure you appreciate it.”

After the inaugural event, over the next several seasons the Winter Classic was held in equally cold places, such as Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Because of their artistic and financial success, it was natural to give the fans more of a good thing.

The 2014 game in Ann Arbor at Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”) attracted a record 105,491 fans.

By contrast, in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two outdoor games, billed as Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, were played without spectators at an improvised rink in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

The concept led to spinoffs. The Heritage Classic and the Stadium Series, which began in 2014 with a whopping four games in three venues, do not get the same press as the Winter Classic, but they are as popular.

While the Winter Classic and Heritage Series display the retro look, the Stadium Series, held in U.S. venues, goes for a more futuristic appearance.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will get its own outdoor game with the 2026 Stadium Series against the Bruins on Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While most games are scheduled for afternoon play, this year’s 8 p.m. start time is to maintain the best possible weather conditions for the players.

It was also moved to Friday so not to compete with the three big college playoff bowl games being played on New Year’s Day.

The retractable roof at LoanDepot Park has been closed during construction of the rink but will be open during the game to create a true outdoor atmosphere.

There are other flexible rules designed to not give a team a weather-related disadvantage.

This includes, if necessary, changing sides midway in the third period and using the same goal for shootouts. Although not an issue here, with a stadium with a retractable roof, under severe weather conditions the officials can declare a game complete if two periods are completed.

Given that this is the balmy south, the venue will have two themes. One half of the field will have a tropical theme while the other half will be a winter wonderland.

Pre-game activities include an outdoor fan-festival complete with an appearance of the Stanley Cup.

Florida has seen an unprecedented growth of hockey interest in the last few years, with the Stanley Cup successes of the Panthers and the Lightning.

The Winter Classic is but one more reward for the fans.

“It’s just a great opportunity to continue to grow it,’’ Marchand said. “Especially down here the last few years hockey has really taken off. You can see the support the fanbase has for the team and in the group. Just another great opportunity.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 40

THE 2026 NHL WINTER CLASSIC

NEW YORK RANGERS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Friday; 8 p.m.
• Where: LoanDepot Park, Miami
• National TV: TNT/truTV (US); Sportsnet/TVA (Canada)
• Streaming: HBO Max
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 931 or 932, NHL App
• Last Season vs. Rangers: Panthers Won 2-1
• This Season vs. Rangers — At Panthers: Winter Classic; April 13. At Rangers: March 29.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Rangers lead 62-36-8, 6 ties
• Postseason History: Rangers won 4-1 (1997, 1st round); Panthers won 4-2 (2024 ECF)
• Up Next for the Panthers: Sunday vs. Colorado Avalanche, 5 p.m.