Florida Panthers Reportedly Set To Host Outdoor Game As Soon As Next Season
The Florida Panthers may play in the Sunshine State, but according to reports, they could be set to host an outdoor game for the first time in franchise history.
The Florida Panthers made plenty of franchise history a year ago, with the most important of all being the first Stanley Cup in the almost 30-year history of the organization.
Now, they may be looking at another piece of history as soon as 2025/26, with reports from top NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman revealing that they are in talks with the league to host their first ever outdoor game.
Unsurprisingly, fans are questioning exactly how this is going to work, as Friedman speculates that they could be looking to use the home ballpark of the Miami Marlins as the site of their outdoor game.
On paper, playing an outdoor game in a state that rarely, if ever gets cold is a tricky task, but in the last few years we have seen a game played at Lake Tahoe, which presented similar challenges.
Given the star power in Florida with the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, as well as their improving status as a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, it all makes sense for the NHL to try this, as long as they can figure out the very difficult logistics.
While the NHL have come under criticism for giving the Chicago Blackhawks yet another opportunity to play outside, this is the league showing they are open to new ideas, especially after they've shaken it up in recent times with the likes of Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle all getting outdoor games last season.
There's still plenty to work out if the NHL want to make this happen, but given the desire for it in Florida, if there's a way to possibly do it, you can bet that Gary Bettman and the league will somehow make it work.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Mark Scheifele | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Robert Thomas | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Travis Konecny | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Luke Kunin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Nikita Chibrikov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kent Johnson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Elias Pettersson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kevin Rooney | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Wild | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 42 | |
Jets | 30 | 21 | 9 | - | 42 | |
Capitals | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 40 | |
Golden Knights | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 39 | |
Devils | 31 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 39 | |
Panthers | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 38 | |
Hurricanes | 28 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 37 | |
Kings | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 37 | |
Maple Leafs | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 36 | |
Stars | 27 | 17 | 10 | - | 34 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||