Future NHL Outdoor Games We’d Love to See

The NHL has held 41 outdoor games to date, and with so many perfectly suited arenas out there, what are some that fans would love to see some outdoor hockey at?

We’re still in the dog days of summer, but the hype is already starting to build for the outdoor games that will dot the hockey calendar next season.

Since the 4 Nations Face-Off will take up nine days in February of 2025, the NHL has elected to hold just two outdoor games during the 2024-25 campaign.

They’ll be the 42nd and 43rd in league history.

The 2025 Winter Classic will actually be held in 2024, on New Year’s Eve at Wrigley Field. When the Chicago Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues, they'll get their second chance to earn a win at the home of the Chicago Cubs. At the 2009 Winter Classic, the Blackhawks dropped a 6-4 decision to the Detroit Red Wings.

This week, the NCAA’s Big Ten Conference announced that it will piggyback on that event with a series of four outdoor games at Wrigley over the first weekend of 2025, which they're calling 'The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series.'

Jan. 3 will feature a doubleheader of Penn State vs. Notre Dame along with Ohio State vs. Michigan. On Jan. 4, the festivities will kick off with a sweet women’s hockey tilt between archrivals Ohio State and Wisconsin before the men’s teams from Wisconsin and Michigan State wrap things up.

The NHL’s second outdoor game of 2024-25 will also have a college flavor. On Mar. 1, the Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Red Wings at Ohio Stadium, on the campus of Ohio State University.

It’s no small thing to mount an outdoor game, but the rewards clearly outweigh the challenges for the league. The games are marvellous TV spectacles that often draw big ratings as casual fans tune in. Those big venues also offer the opportunity to sell tickets to tens of thousands more fans than would fit in a traditional hockey arena — at premium prices.

Here are four spots where we’d love to see the NHL hold an outdoor game in the next few years.

With the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup win, their rivalry with their cross-state rivals in Tampa Bay has now reached new heights. Both teams have also now reached the stage where they sell out their arenas regularly, so there would be no shortage of fans for a head-to-head outdoor game in the Sunshine State.

The idea of an outdoor game in Florida has been on the league’s radar for a while. But the region’s weather, especially the humidity, would make ice-making a challenge.

At his ‘State of the League’ address in Sunrise last June, commissioner Gary Bettman agreed that he’d like to get the Panthers into an outdoor game. When asked about the home of MLB’s Miami Marlins as a possible location, he said he liked the fact that the ballpark “has a roof and is air-conditioned.”

The roof is retractable, which has worked well for the NHL’s ice crew in the past. Ahead of the 2024 Winter Classic in Seattle last year, the roof was left closed to provide a shaded, controlled environment while the rink was being constructed. Then, it was opened for showtime.

Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City was the host venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games — an Olympics that featured a pair of very memorable hockey tournaments on the men's and women's sides.

Last month, the new home of the Utah Hockey Club was approved as the host city for the 2034 Winter Games.

On the campus of the University of Utah, Rice-Eccles Stadium was fully revitalized ahead of 2002. The stadium seats more than 50,000 for football and with majestic mountain vistas in the distance, the setting is spectacular. 

Just like with Seattle in 2024, an outdoor game would be a powerful marketing tool to introduce the new NHL franchise to sports fans across the state.

The Arizona Coyotes never played in an outdoor game. With a new home and a roster that could start making noise before long, it's time.

It’s been 10 years since the Anaheim Ducks shut out the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in 2014 — a Stadium Series event that might be best remembered for the pyro-drenched musical performances from Kiss.

The Kings/Ducks rivalry isn’t exactly at its apex right now. But Los Angeles now boasts a new 70,000-seat state-of-the-art stadium that will play host to FIFA World Cup games in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.

The NHL should look to get an event of its own into that high-profile space sometime in the next few years.

For years, the NFL has promoted its brand with big games at Europe’s top soccer stadiums. And while the NHL’s Global Series has now become a regular part of the league’s annual special-event calendar, we've yet to see an NHL stadium game on the other side of the pond.

The IIHF mounted one back in 2010 — although weather conditions required that the retractable roof at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany be closed. More than 77,000 fans took in a 2-1 overtime win for the Germans over Team USA.

The NHL might want to piggyback on its return to the Winter Olympics in 2026 by holding an outdoor game near the Alps, closer to Italy. But the league's best bet might be to stage its first European outdoor game in a more traditional hockey hotbed.

Last season’s four-game Global Series event at Avicii Arena in Stockholm was very well received. The Swedish capital is also home to the 50,000-seat Strawberry Arena, which comes complete with a retractable roof. It would be an excellent host venue.