The Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes are the two teams left without an outdoor game after the NHL named the Columbus Blue Jackets hosts of the 2025 Stadium Series. Where and who could they play?

As this year's NHL Stadium Series games have come and gone, outdoor games of the past and future have been in the headlines. 

The 2025 NHL Winter Classic will once again include the Chicago Blackhawks in the next New Year's Day event. Chicago hosts the Blues this time around after the teams met at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in 2017. This game is expected to be the 16th NHL Winter Classic and the 42nd regular-season outdoor game.

The Blues will be getting their third outdoor appearance, while the Blackhawks will play outside for a league-leading seventh time, barring any Pittsburgh Penguins outdoor game announcements.

Not long after the Winter Classic announcement, the NHL revealed that one of the three remaining teams yet to play outdoors will get their chance. The Columbus Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium on March 1, 2025.

The Blue Jackets will finally play in front of 100,000 fans in the NHL's version of Ohio versus Michigan. Adam Fantilli and his squad will go against a Detroit team led by Michigan native Dylan Larkin.

The NHL has done a phenomenal job marketing some of its superstars like Connor Bedard this season, but Fantilli is no slouch. This type of game will benefit a smaller market like Columbus and promote the other young stars who don’t garner as much regular attention.

Following these announcements, let’s look at the final two teams who have yet to play outside and some fun matchups that would be great to see outdoors in the future.

Florida Panthers: Battle of Florida, But Where?

The No. 1 choice is clear, and the opponent might be even more obvious. The Florida Panthers have been an exciting team to watch for a few seasons now, as they’ve put together a winning team.

A potential outdoor game would be difficult, considering both teams are located in southern Florida, where the average temperature during the winter is nearly warmer than the warmest recorded outdoor NHL game in Denver. There are ways around it with the NHL’s Global Series and other specialty events. The NHL could make it work by hosting in Solna, Sweden at Friends Arena, home of the Swedish men's national team that has a capacity of around 50,000 people.

The opponent should be none other than the Tampa Bay Lightning. The iconic Battle of Florida needs a game with heavy media attention from the NHL. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky are still some of the best goalies in the NHL, and some of the most talented players in the league play in the state of Florida. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman against Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart would not disappoint. Plus, the two teams have combined for 342 penalty minutes in their 17 matchups since 2020-21.

Growing the game in Florida should continue to be more of a priority with the recent NHL talent coming out of the state, including the Hughes brothers and Jakob Chychrun. Florida is one of the highest populated states in the United States, so any hockey exposure is huge for the growth of the game.

Arizona Coyotes: Desert Hockey?

The last team that has yet to play outdoors is none other than the Arizona Coyotes. Of course, it would be a challenge to set up an outdoor game for the Coyotes before they figure out their next full-time rink.

If they can figure things out, an outdoor game should be on the calendar if the NHL wants to grow the sport. Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley & Co. have provided some positive moments during the year, including battling for a playoff spot before an 11-game winless skid.

As for the opponents, there are a few options. The Los Angeles Kings have had an ongoing rivalry with the Coyotes that intensified during the 2012 Western Conference final. Another team that makes sense is the Colorado Avalanche. With Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, it’s a very marketable team and a great place for another outdoor game. And both teams are in neighboring states and in the Central Division.

Finally, and probably the most controversial, there are the Toronto Maple Leafs. It would be great to see one of the NHL’s biggest stars in Auston Matthews get the opportunity to play a specialty game against his hometown team. Any of these opponents would be fun games to watch, all competitive teams, and the Coyotes continue to have some prospects shine.

Potential locations would likely all be away games for the Yotes. BMO Field in Toronto would be a good spot, with additions coming to the stadium's capacity for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Colorado hosted a game at Coors Field before, so Empower Field at Mile High would also be an exciting atmosphere in a potential Avalanche and Coyotes outdoor matchup. Finally, the Kings and Coyotes could bring outdoor NHL hockey back to California after previous matchups at Dodger's Stadium and Levi's Stadium. SoFi Stadium, built in 2020, sits more than 70,000 fans.

Every team deserves the opportunity to play an outdoor game. It’s good for the fans to get into that atmosphere. The players seem to love all that comes with these games as well. Growing the sport needs to continue, and to do that, the exposure with outdoor games is huge.

The NHL needs to start exploring Global Series outdoor games as well because as much as I would love to watch Sweden's Hedman and Finland's Barkov go head-to-head in an outdoor game in the United States, I'd fly out to a game between the two outside in Sweden or Finland.