The National Hockey League announced today that the 2026 Winter Classic will be held in Florida. The event will take place at LoanDepot Park, the home of the Miami Marlins. The Florida Panthers will welcome the New York Rangers.
Former Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo and current special advisor to the General Manager in Florida poked some fun regarding the announcement, made from his unofficial X/Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon:
Alumni game? Head to head vs @HLundqvist like the good old days! What says you? Playing an outdoor game was always a dream of mine đź« https://t.co/QMp6gJdSxZ
— Strombone (@strombone1) January 8, 2025
Luongo suggests an alumni game between him and the Panthers against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers.
While there is nothing set in stone and nothing but a thought from the Hockey Hall of Famer, an alumni game between these two-star goaltenders would highlight some big-time former players.
On the Panthers’ side, players such as Olli Jokinen, Igor Larionov, Nathan Horton, Jay Bouwmeester and a handful of former Canucks: Bryan McCabe, Ed Jovanovski, Pavel Bure and, of course, Roberto Luongo. On the Rangers’ side, Jaromir Jagr, Marian Gaborik, Derek Stepan, Rick Nash, Sean Avery and former Canuck Michael Del Zotto, just to name a few.
He also adds that it was always a “dream” of his to play in an outdoor game, taking a jab at former Canucks Head Coach John Tortorella for starting Eddie Lack in Vancouver’s Heritage Classic game against the Ottawa Senators in 2014.
The decision was viewed as a questionable one from Tortorella as the Canucks netminder was having yet another strong season in Vancouver. He finished that season with a 19-16-6 record with a 2.38 goals against average and a .917% save percentage.
The Heritage Classic took place in Vancouver on March 2nd. Luongo was traded just two days later on March 4th, returning to the Florida Panthers along with Steven Anthony in exchange for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.
Playing hockey outdoors in Florida is not something the league has done in the past, but the league is open to the challenge. Here is what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had to say regarding the event in Florida:
“Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey throughout the state have demonstrated that Florida is a hockey hotbed. Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? Never let it be said that our League isn’t willing to accept a challenge.”
