After the Blue Jackets host the Purple 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 outside sport – the Panthers and Utah. The previous will likely be coming off the checklist rapidly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated on Tuesday’s Winter Basic broadcast that the league would announce an outside sport in Miami within the subsequent couple of weeks.
“It’s going to be somewhat uncommon,’’ Bettman stated, through George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. “It’s going to be somewhat extra distinctive. Some individuals will suppose we’ve misplaced our minds. We’re not able to announce it, however we are going to 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 studies. 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, house of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a substitute, Richards studies 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 Basic between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was performed with the retractable roof deployed because of rain within the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not essentially temperature, would doubtless resolve whether or not the Panthers might 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 outside sport subsequent season.
