The Winter Classic; the outdoor marquee game for the National Hockey League, that has turned into a bit of a staple for the league. Every year, right around New Years, Gary Bettman and the rest of the higher-ups in the NHL try their best to put on a SPECTACLE of an outdoor event. Whether it’s in Chicago with the Blackhawks, Seattle with the Kraken, Boston with the Bruins, or anything in between; this is one of those “special games” on the calendar that just feels bigger than normal.

But sadly, in the past few years……it has taken a bit of a downward turn. According to Sports Media Watch; this year’s ‘Classic’ between the Blues and the Blackhawks had just a 2.5 rating, compared to the 5.8 that the team had back in 2019. It is a issue that has been happening for a number of years now, which leads fans to ask the question; “how do we fix it?”

Well, I know one way NOT to solve that problem…….

SLATER SCOOP: The Florida Panthers will host the NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park in Miami.

The game will be on Jan. 2, 2026 vs. the New York Rangers, sources say. pic.twitter.com/IUKP321Jnv

— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) January 8, 2025

This……this is a very dumb idea. This, in my personal opinion, is a desperate attempt by the league to try and make up for the terrible ratings that they’ve been getting over the past number of years. Instead of holding the Winter Classic in a cold climate (like they should), they are trying to use the fact that they’re holding the event in a warm climate as a way to attract more people.

Just think about it; being the idiot I am, I can tell you that I will CERTAINLY watch this game. Why? Well it’s because I want to see how long the ice lasts in the unpredictable Florida weather. I want to see if it melts in the first hour of the event, just like my Margarita does on the beach. I want to see if this match-up between the Panthers and Rangers goes from a hockey game, to a game of water polo. If you catch my drift?

Not only that; holding this game in Florida also helps ticket sales as well. If you can put this game in a warm/tropical climate, you can attract a whole new demographic of people. You can attract the casual fans who just want to go to the beach, even though they’re not the biggest hockey fans. You can attract the fans who’ve always wanted to go to the Winter Classic, but didn’t want to freeze their backsides off at the game.

It. just. makes. sense! It’s a MAJOR money grab by the league, in my head, that they are hoping will recoup some money/ratings that were lost in years past. The only problem that I have though is…..it just COMPLETELY takes away from the ‘Winter’ part of the Winter Classic. It takes away from the cold/outdoor vibe that the game is known for, and turns it into something….that it’s not. Sure, it would be interesting to watch a hockey game outside in a t-shirt and shorts. But in the end…..it’s just not right. In the end, the Winter Classic in Florida is just like a ketchup popsicle at a white glove convention……out of place.

In the end, if Bettman and co. wanted to “spice up” the game…..they didn’t have to do something as WILD as this. They could’ve just simply changed the teams around, and matched up two squads who are actually RELEVANT in the season. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love my Blackhawks to death. The more I can watch them play hockey, the happier I am. But even I KNOW they’re in a rebuild right now, and that they shouldn’t have been in the game.

It makes sense to me. But in the end, what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.