The State Of Florida Will Reportedly Host Not One, But Two Outdoor NHL Games Next Season

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There have been rumors for quite some time that the next Winter Classic will take place in South Florida and feature the Florida Panthers, but a new report suggests that it may not be the only outdoor NHL game in the Sunshine State.

Sorry, Minnesota; you're great, but Florida is quickly becoming the new State of Hockey.

According to Sports Illustrated, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, that the Tampa Bay Lightning will host an outdoor game in 2025-26 as well.

According to Freidman, the Panthers would host their game at LoanDepot Park — home of the Miami Marlins — while the Bolts would host theirs at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Raymond James Stadium.

A new report suggests that there might be two outdoor NHL games headed to the Sunshine State next season. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images and Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)

Unfortunately, it sounds like neither game in Florida will pit the cross-state rivals against each other, which is a shame.

The Panthers are one of three teams who have never played an outdoor game. The other two are Columbus — which will play in one in March — and the Utah Hockey Club.

Given how successful both Florida clubs have been over the last few years, it makes sense to give them outdoor games, but I'm kind of surprised the league wouldn't want to do a multi-year home-and-home series like they did with another major cross-state rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The two teams played a pair of Stadium Series games, first in Pittsburgh in 2017, then another in Philly in 2019.

While nothing is official yet, it doesn't sound like that's what's coming for Florida, which is a bit of a shame.

However, the Panthers have some other strong rivalries against the Boston Bruins (that's the one I'd like to see if the Lightning aren't involved) and against the New York Rangers.

We'll see if it happens — there are some obvious logistical issues with holding a game in Florida — but it would be something to see a pair of games played under palm trees next season.