NEW YORK -- With only one month remaining until the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, the countdown to the much-anticipated annual event has begun, as the two-time defending Stanley Cup®-champion Florida Panthers are set to host the Original Six New York Rangers outdoors at loanDepot park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, on January 2. The event will be televised live on TNT and HBO Max in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, at 8 p.m. ET. It will be a historic first--the inaugural NHL outdoor game played in the State of Florida--and the kickoff of an outdoor hockey celebration in the Sunshine State, which will also include the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ less than a month later, February 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins.
A limited number of tickets to the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic are still available, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Fans can purchase tickets here via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL. Ticketmaster is the only official marketplace of the NHL, providing fans with the peace of mind in knowing the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app are the seats they’ll get. All of the 16 previous NHL Winter Classics have been sellouts.
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic continues the tradition the National Hockey League (NHL) established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2026 edition marking the 18-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic. The game will be the 17th NHL Winter Classic, the 44th NHL regular-season outdoor game, and the first of two NHL regular-season outdoor games scheduled for the 2025-26 season. This season marks the 32nd campaign of NHL play for the Panthers franchise, which joined the League for the 1993-94 season and has reached the Stanley Cup Final the last three consecutive years, and the 33rd season of NHL play in the Sunshine State, since the Lightning made its debut in 1992-93.
For a complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games, click here.
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic will be the first regular-season outdoor game for the two-time defending Stanley Cup®-champion Panthers, who will become the 31st team to participate in outdoor regular-season action. It will be the sixth outdoor appearance for the Rangers, who hold an NHL-best 5-0-0 record in outdoor games.
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic will showcase a number of the top players in the NHL. The Panthers (12-11-1) are led by forwards Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell, defensemen Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling and two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Rangers (13-12-2) counter with captain J.T. Miller, forwards Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, defensemen Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, and goaltender Igor Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner.
Events and activities leading up to the annual hockey celebration include:
Special Edition NHL Winter Classic Jerseys and Apparel
Last month, Fanatics and the NHL unveiled the uniforms, including special-edition jerseys, that the Panthers and Rangers will wear in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic. The NHL Winter Classic jerseys are available for purchase across the Fanatics network of sites, including NHLShop.com and NHLShop.ca, as well as both the Panthers’ and Rangers’ team stores, and the NHL Shop NYC flagship store.
Road To The Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise
The critically-acclaimed behind-the-scenes docuseries returns this season, with cameras following fan-favorite players from the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers as they prepare to face off in the highly anticipated outdoor matchup in Miami. The first episode in the four-part series will premiere on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT and simulcast on truTV in the U.S. The show will premiere for fans in Canada on Sportsnet on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.
The Rink Build at loanDepot park
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic Ice Plant will arrive at loanDepot park in Miami on Wednesday, Dec. 17. After the installation of field protection – 243 ice pans and a ring of dasher boards to enclose the rink – workers will create a nearly two-inch thick ice surface at the ballpark. Fans will be able to follow the entire rink-build process through interactive features and extensive coverage on NHL Social™, NHL.com and NHL Network™. While loanDepot park’s retractable roof will assist during the ice build to get the optimal playing surface for the players, on game night the NHL plans to open the roof so that players and fans can all experience an outdoor NHL game.
Community events and initiatives hosted by the NHL, NHLPA, and Florida Panthers to celebrate hockey in the State of Florida
Events in South Florida include an all-day NHL STREET ball hockey championship with nine outdoor rinks attempting to break a world record for the largest one-day ball hockey tournament, a high school pep rally to celebrate the donation of a synthetic ice rink in Miami, and an ‘NHL in ASL’ alternate broadcast for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, broadcast in real time for the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
Team Practices at loanDepot park
The Panthers and Rangers will take to the ice for the first time at loanDepot park for team practices on Thursday, Jan. 1. NHL Social™, NHL Network™ and NHL.com will provide full coverage of the team skates.
Additional information on the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic will be announced when available. Fans can join the conversation on X, Facebook and Instagram by tagging their photos using NHL #WinterClassic.
