Did you ever think it would be possible to hold an outdoor NHL game in Florida? And did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think they’d have to heat the ice between periods to prevent it from getting too cold?
That’s exactly what happened at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday. It was the league’s second outdoor game in Florida this season. Both were successful, and the latter is being regarded as one of the best outdoor games ever.
For starters, it broke the U.S. record for highest cable viewership of a regular-season NHL game. As has been the case with every outdoor game before it, every seat was sold. And on the ice, it was among the wildest games you’ll ever witness.
With the Winter Classic coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City in 2027, what can the league take from Tampa’s Stadium Series?
Here’s what made the game so good, as well as what the event organizers should apply to every game.
The hype
For obvious reasons, there was a high level of intrigue around the process of making ice in a roofless stadium in Florida. The NHL was transparent throughout the planning and execution phases, so by the time the actual game rolled around, everyone was curious as to how it would turn out.
Along with that came periodic glimpses of the event, many of which were themed around the Gasparilla Pirate Festival that takes over the city at this time of year:
- The Buccaneers and Patriots walk-in costumes for the Tampa- and Boston-based teams
- The unconventional (but epic) jerseys
- The map-themed borders of the playing surface with all the locations named after Lightning players.
They also brought in Tim McGraw for the intermission show, where he performed a 10-minute medley of his greatest hits.
The game
Even with perfect preparation, the game wouldn’t have been nearly what it was without the on-ice action. Again, it would have been one of the most memorable games of the year, even if it had been played indoors.
For starters, the fans only had to wait 11 seconds to see the first goal. And before the end of the first period, there were three more.
The second period featured even more goals than the first, with the home team pushing for a franchise-record comeback from a 5-1 deficit. In the third period, they completed the comeback, forcing overtime.
Overtime was as exciting as it always is. The Lightning got two power plays and their best player had a clear-cut breakaway, but none of them resulted in a goal. The Bruins had a goal disallowed because the players hadn’t heard the referee’s whistle due to the noise in the stadium.
Oh, and don’t forget about the most exciting thing that can possibly happen in a hockey game: a goalie fight.
The night concluded with a shootout victory for the hometown Lightning, sending the bulk of the 64,000 fans home with the result they wanted to see.
The broadcast experience
Outdoor games often get criticized for their TV watchability. They’re primarily designed for the fans in attendance, though in reality, there are more fans watching it remotely than in person.
That was the one downside of this game. ESPN had the broadcast rights, though they get a lot of criticism for the personnel they employ for hockey (many of them are thrown into hockey from other sports). Most of the goals seemed to catch the play-by-play commentator by surprise, which never makes for good calls.
There was also something funky going on with the microphones. One minute you couldn’t hear the announcers, and the next they were loud enough to wake up your neighbors.
ESPN did have some good in-game interviews. They spoke to Lightning forward Jake Guentzel on his way to the penalty box, which has got to be a first. McGraw sat down with ESPN’s PK Subban and reminisced about their time together in Nashville, which was also unique.
TNT has the broadcast rights for Utah’s outdoor game. With the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Henrik Lundqvist and Paul Bissonnette on the panel, there’s never a shortage of humor or good hockey info.
What would make Utah’s 2027 Winter Classic special?
The Mammoth host the Colorado Avalanche, with whom they’re developing a decent rivalry — one that would get even better if they ended up meeting in the playoffs this spring, which is entirely possible.
Utah’s proximity to Colorado allows for easy travel for visiting fans. Wouldn’t it be cool if they set up the stadium the way they do in soccer? Having segregated seating sections for the two fan bases would make for an awesome scene.
Commissioner Gary Bettman stated that it’s likely they’ll release specialty jerseys for both teams. Mammoth fans have their hearts set on a “Mountain Blue” base, which would not only go great with the cold-weather theme, but also pay tribute to the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008, where the Pittsburgh Penguins donned a similar shade.
Walk-in costumes have become a trend over the last handful of years, and the possibilities are endless. They typically have to do with what the respective cities are known for, so maybe the Mammoth could do something Olympic-related.
That kind of thing is typically up to the players to decide, so how cool it is will depend on how much they lean into it.
An intermission could employ any number of Utah ties: Post Malone, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Panic! at the Disco. Benson Boone has made appearances at a handful of games, so there’s probably a connection to make that work, too.
The NHL’s event staff, led by Steve Mayer, always finds innovative ways to make things fresh and interesting, so there will undoubtedly be much to remember from January 2027.
