The NHL will cross a long-awaited market off the list of outdoor games by hosting the first such matchup in Florida on Friday. Florida Panthers will host New York Rangers In the Winter Classic at Longdepot Park, home of MLB’s Miami Marlins.
Baseball and football stadiums typically add an extra layer of charm and uniqueness to aerial views of sports – the views from Fenway Park in 2023 will always be the most iconic. ESPN will broadcast the Stadium Series game on February 1, when tampa bay lightning will host boston bruins at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now that we can all cross “Florida” off our wish lists, here are the top five places where I’d like to see outdoor NHL games held:
1. UtahIt will be a spectacular sight – imagine Rice-Eccles Stadium and those incredible views, Mammoth is building something special in the state, and owner Ryan Smith could be a big proponent for this kind of game, I hope they will be on the list in the near future,
2. Rideau CanalI know the NHL is a business – you can sell 90,000-100,000 tickets for a stadium game – but I’m not getting the image of it, Lake Tahoe Outdoor Sports Out of my mind. The scene was spectacular (even if it was born out of necessity due to pandemic-era social distancing restrictions).
a preseason game with ottawa senators It would be great to host an event at an iconic Canadian landmark (people literally skate to work on the canal in the winter) with a community focus.
3. Istanbulok, that Specific This place symbolizes my Turkish heritage – but I would love to explore outdoor places outside of North America. How about soccer stadiums in hockey-loving countries like Sweden, Finland or Czechia? or imagine leon draisaitl and this edmonton oilers Playing at the Allianz Arena in Munich, home of Bayern Munich. Of course, it all depends on dollars (and sanity), but for a hypothetical wish list like this, I’m dreaming big.
4. A VR environmentI’m a big supporter of alternative broadcasting – and I was able to work as a reporter for the Big City Greens Classic, a memory I will always cherish, To add to this “outdoors”, imagine a huge sound studio surrounded by large walls where an NHL game is taking place and the fans decide which scenes they are playing, They could be anywhere – Rome, Sydney Harbour, Mars, a digital Colosseum on Tatooine, the possibilities are endless,
5. Other Neutral SitesIn 2019, the NHL hosted a Heritage Classic outdoor game between winnipeg jets And calgary flames In Regina, Saskatchewan (350 miles from Winnipeg and 460 miles from Calgary). How about Atlanta, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Quebec and other cities currently without NHL teams? Or what about some other college football team stadiums? They often contain a huge amount of history and charm.
Proceed:
games of the week
what i liked this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
social post of the week
paste tap
biggest games of the week
The Oilers are my team to watch this week. Desire connor mcdavid And leon draisaitl Keep breaking it out, and will the Oilers take sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division? they are behind a point vegas golden knights But have played three more games. This week they have:
The Jets have a winnable game on Monday against a team that has struggled at 2-5-3 in its last 10.
The Bruins are a must-see on Wednesday. morgan geeky Are on their way to 50 goals, but they themselves are 4-5-1 in their last 10, including three straight losses.
philadelphia flyersWhich ranks third in the highly congested metro division.
Other major sports to watch
monday
7 PM ET | espn+
9 PM ET | espn+
10 PM ET | espn+
Tuesday
7 PM ET | espn+
Wednesday
4 PM ET | espn+
8 PM ET | espn+
Thursday
7 PM ET | espn+
Friday
10:30 PM ET | espn+
Saturday
12pm ET | ABC/ESPN+
7 PM ET | espn+
9 PM ET | espn+
sunday
5 PM ET | espn+
what i liked this weekend
A Very Things had to happen in the right order for this to happen, and they did. And this goalkeeper was in the right place at the wrong time.
In the KHL, a player hits a player on the opposing team’s own bench, and the player hits the backup goaltender. what luck!
A very unique kind of friendly fire🧐 pic.twitter.com/hMXiqkCBOj
– KHL (@khl_eng) 26 December 2025
Hart Trophy candidates if the season ended today
Connor McDavid is on an 11-game point streak, where he has scored 31 points! This ties the most points he has added in an 11-game period in the last 25 seasons – with himself in 2021-22. He had a five-assist game during the renewal of the Battle of Alberta last Tuesday, making him the fourth Oilers player with multiple five-assist games in his career; Wayne Gretzky had 12, Paul Coffey had two more. leon draisaitl There are two. McDavid is clearly the favorite for Hart now, ahead of…
nathan mackinnonWho is now in second place with 64 points (McDavid has 68 points). MacKinnon had a slow week by his standards, with eight points in five games, and was held off the scoresheet against Utah, snapping an eight-game point streak.
I am keeping McLean Celebrini As for my third choice, knowing Draisaitl is also turning it up, to pull within a point of Celebrini with 12 points in his last five games. To close out Calendar 2025, Mac remains in this pack. He has 11 points in his last five matches.
weekend social media posts
shout out to Toronto Maple Leafs Admin! Some have categorized the Leafs as a stifling Original Six team, but the social media crew is thinking outside the box for some really fun content. I can’t quite explain why, but his ZamCam POV posts throughout Christmas Day were hilarious:
POV: You wanted ZAMCAM to look more realistic pic.twitter.com/KLDAdP13t
– Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) 25 December 2025
paste tap
This week the Stick Taps go to two young players from the Greater Toronto Area, Gord and Everett Brady. Gord U15A Bruce Gray is a forward with the Bulls (switching between center and right wing). Everett Gray is the goalkeeper for the Bulls U11B team. Gordon scored the shootout winner in the semifinals of the September tournament, while Everett made 42 saves in his team’s first win of the regular season on December 3.
Keep crushing it, boys!
