After the Blue Jackets host the Pink Wings in a Stadium Collection matchup at Ohio Stadium later this season, there will likely be solely two NHL franchises left that haven’t performed in an out of doors sport – the Panthers and Utah. The previous will likely be coming off the checklist shortly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated on Tuesday’s Winter Traditional broadcast that the league would announce an out of doors sport in Miami within the subsequent couple of weeks.
“It’s going to be a bit of uncommon,’’ Bettman stated, through George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. “It’s going to be a bit of extra distinctive. Some folks will suppose we’ve misplaced our minds. We’re not able to announce it, however we’ll quickly. And it’s going to be good.’’
The sport will happen at LoanDepot Park, which hosts MLB’s Miami Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, which is able to presumably be essential to maintain an ice sheet intact in a South Florida local weather that routinely sees 70-degree highs in winter.
These hoping to see an intra-state rivalry matchup between the Panthers and Lightning will likely be out of luck, Richards stories. That matchup “seems to be off the desk,” however the Lightning will nonetheless doubtless be getting their second out of doors sport in franchise historical past in 2025-26 or 2026-27, sources inform Richards – this time on their turf at Raymond James Stadium, residence of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As an alternative, Richards stories that the Panthers’ visiting membership will mark the sixth out of doors sport look for the Bruins or Rangers.
If the roof at LoanDepot Park stays closed all through the sport along with the rink-building course of, it wouldn’t be the primary time that’s occurred. The 2014 Heritage Traditional between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was performed with the retractable roof deployed attributable to rain within the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not essentially temperature, would doubtless determine whether or not the Panthers may play with the roof open.
Sources instructed Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald in early December that Florida would doubtless get an out of doors sport subsequent season.
