Mason Speake Following the final buzzer of this most recent NHL winter classic, which most people thought would be a snooze fest on melted ice, given they played an outdoor hockey game in Florida, yes, that’s right, an ice hockey game, outside, in 60-degree weather in Miami, Florida. Let’s take a look back at some of the old ones and see how much of a fan fair they have become in more modern days.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe first NHL Winter Classic was held in 2008, on New Year’s Day, between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins at what is now Highmark Stadium in New York. Since then, there have been 17 winter classics, one of which was skipped in the 2013 season due to the NHL lockout, and another in the 2021 season due to COVID. Since then, there have been two in rather warm locations: the first was the 2019 Winter Classic, held at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, between the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators, and the second was the 2026 Winter Classic, held at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Embed from Getty ImagesSince the inception of the Winter Classic, the NHL has held two other alternative-location games per year: the Heritage Classic, the Canadian version of the Winter Classic, and the Stadium Series, another version of the Winter Classic primarily played in college football stadiums. Which is mostly played in warmer areas.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen most people think of the NHL Winter Classic, they picture wearing layers in a football stadium to see hockey players in eye black, goalies wearing beanies, and the sun shining down on the ice. Yet during this most recent winter classic, we had fans in tank tops and shorts, with the warm Florida air heating the ice to the point that they had to make it almost twice as thick and open the roof just prior to game time.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe NHL Winter Classic, along with the Heritage Classic, should stay in cold winter areas, for the love of the game. These games, which are pure fanfare in Florida, don’t give off the “pond hockey” vibe that the early classics held so truly to.
Mason Speake is a sophomore member of the multimedia journalism class
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