Florida Panthers host New York Rangers on Friday in first-ever outdoor hockey game for the Sunshine State
The NHL played its All-Star Game in Tampa in 2018, and when league officials were leaving town they couldn't help but notice a billboard that was created for the occasion.
"Next time," it read, "let's go OUTSIDE the box."
The play on words was clear. A seed was planted. And for the next few years, the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers kept talking about how they could bring outdoor games to the Sunshine State.
On Friday, the waiting ends. At loanDepot Park, home of baseball's Miami Marlins, a sold-out crowd is expected to watch the Panthers host the New York Rangers in the first outdoor game to take place in the state of Florida. The retractable roof on the ballpark — which has been shut while tons of air conditioning have been piped in to help ice-builders create a playing surface suitable for hockey — will be opened not long before puck drop.
"I know it's cliche, but it's like little kids at Christmas," Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito said, when asked to describe what the feeling is like going into the game. "It's anticipating this wonderful celebration of our game on all the levels and with our families and with our friends and new fans and our fans."
The game on Friday will be the first of two in Florida this season; the Lightning get their home game Feb. 1 against the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For each of the last six years — Tampa Bay in 2020, 2021 and 2022, then Florida in 2023, 2024 and 2025 — a Sunshine State team has made its way to the Stanley Cup Final, with the Lightning and Panthers both winning twice in that span.
"We just kept on talking about it," said Steve Mayer, the NHL's president for events and content. "And then we got a lot more comfortable with the ice build, the temperatures — we did a lot of research, this just doesn't happen — and now we're here. I can't believe we're here, but we are."
By Miami standards, it's cold these days. The high temperature has been struggling to get out of the 60s, and lows have gone into the low 40s overnight.
And the NHL couldn't have timed this cold snap any better.
The league's equipment arrived at the Marlins' ballpark in mid-December. Custom refrigeration units were installed, and thousands of gallons of coolant will run through hoses from there onto the field to chill aluminum trays that were placed under what became the playing surface.
From there, ice — about 25% thicker of a sheet than usual — started being made in what is a long, slow, gradual process. A water-soluble paint was added to whiten the ice, and this week lines and logos were painted onto the surface.
The process in Tampa will be slightly different; with no roof on Raymond James, the league will build a tent to help build the ice, then take the tent down before the Lightning-Bruins game. The rink used for the Panthers-Rangers game will be trucked over to Tampa not long after Friday's game.
"Our ice crew is amazing," Mayer said.
Florida was one of two teams never to play in an outdoor game. The Utah Mammoth are the other.
Some Panthers players have taken part in outdoor matchups — Brad Marchand is about to play in his fourth — but many are getting to experience it for the first time. And Marchand said the idea of playing in front of 35,000 or so fans in Miami will only continue the growth that hockey is enjoying all over Florida.
"They're opportunities that don't come around very often," said Marchand, who went 3-0-0 in outdoor games with Boston. "They tend to be kind of crazy, a lot of mayhem, but they're moments that when you look back on your career they're some of your favorite times. They're the ones that you always go back and talk about. That's a great opportunity for everyone. ... I just think the environment that we're going to be in will be very unique and special. It's not often you get to play outdoors in a climate like this."
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky played in his first — and until Friday, his only — outdoor game 14 years ago. He's about to set a record for the longest span between outdoor game appearances. And Panthers coach Paul Maurice will coach an outdoor game for a third time.
He said putting on a good show for fans is important.
"It's not going to look like anything we normally are doing," Maurice said. "And for some guys, it'll be the only one they ever play in. So, you want to make sure you appreciate it."
How to watch the 2026 NHL Winter Classic
The Florida Panthers vs. New York Rangers Winter Classic will air at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max, and truTV in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.
LoanDepot Park is located at 1680 NW 5th Street in Miami.