Jan 01, 2026
3 min read
MIAMI - Oh, the weather outside is horrible ... "It's actually pretty nice," Florida Panthers defensive end Gustav Forsling said.It will be in the 50s for Friday night's Winter Classic hockey game between the Panthers and New York Rangers at Lawn Depot Park.The only way a native South Floridian can comfortably sit in it for three hours is with a blowtorch."It's hockey weather for us," said ...
Dave Hyde: The NHL Winter Classic is a hockey joke, yes, in Miami
MIAMI - Oh, the weather outside is terrible…
"It's really good," Florida Panthers linebacker Gustav Forsling said.
It will be in the 50s for Friday night's Winter Classic hockey game between the Panthers and the New York Rangers at Depot Park.The only way the South Floridian can stay comfortable in this three-hour stretch is with a fire.
"We have great hockey weather," Finn Forsling said.
Yes, they didn't just bring the winter game to play in a fun, festive Friday night atmosphere.They also brought winter, even as we referred to the South Florida Nanooks.
"Snow" is also in the forecast for the game, but the NHL has not said how that will play out. However, this regular NHL event is extremely popular with the league in cold climate cities, and the league has taken it to the battlefields of the sport and our subtropics.
Miami Marlins Stadium was redesigned with beach chairs and sand symbolizing South Florida in left field and snow and ice representing the Rangers climate in right field.Some entertainers wear beachwear.Others, park.
Where the infield is usually located is the regular rink, which received its most important test during the Panthers' practice Thursday afternoon.
"The ice is fantastic," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
Wait and have an account.
Have you heard about the Miracle on Ice?This is a Miracle on Ice.Getting it right is part of the fun challenge of playing the Winter Classic with the stadium roof open, making it an outdoor game.
The idea behind this league's regular season is to recreate the outdoor atmosphere that these players and coaches grew up in. This was Morris's third Winter Classic, and he was enamored with the idea.
"Maybe she is the only one to the house, and you are on the outside road - odr in Canada," he was the right.
"So there was some feeling that in those games, it wasn't the regular season and there was snarling."
Playing in the snow a few years ago with Carolina was a moment frozen in time for him.Of course, some youthful memories of playing outside were left behind.Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky grew up in Siberia and remembers playing in minus-22 degrees.
"We were really cold," he said.
With back-to-back Stanley Cups, all of South Florida no longer wonders when they talk about snow if they mean a bucket or two.
It's not past the point of being surprised to be sitting outside in the mid-50s with the forecast.A January night in Boston is going to be crazy.
In South Florida, people dress like they would rob a 7-Eleven in Manitoba: a parka, a scarf, long underwear, a winter hat, wool-lined boots and thick gloves.
"It's going to be really cool," Panthers forward Brad Marchand said.
He doesn't mean cool like cool, but awesome.His last two winter classics have shown how special the atmosphere is.
"One of my favorite things about these games is walking, you walk to the rink and you can go inside all the things and see how it will look," he said. I hope you can see the city behind."
Once the disk is done, it's another game for the players.It's an important game for both teams trying to keep a foot in their season.
The Panthers showed what's to come as injured Matthew Tkachuk skated in a non-contact jersey in Thursday's practice and senior Alexander Barkov skated lightly before practice.
Their first season is coming up.Friday arrived with this beautiful and ambitious transformation of the subtropics into a winter wonderland.You could see at practice on Thursday how the players are enjoying the strange change in their season.
Then comes Friday's outdoor game that will make you feel like an outsider.
So when it's over, let's hope the heat is turned back on.
