“No one wants this” – Fans react as NHL announces Winter Classic 2026 game between Florida Panthers and New York Rangers in Miami

The Florida Panthers will go head-to-head against the New York Rangers in the 2026 Winter Classic at the LoanDepot Park in Miami.

“No one wants this” – Fans react as NHL announces Winter Classic 2026 game between Florida Panthers and New York Rangers in Miami

Florida Panthers and New York Rangers [Image Credit: Forever Blueshirts]

On Wednesday, the NHL announced the date and location for the next Winter Classic game. For the next edition of this traditional outdoor game, the league will be heading to Miami, Florida, as the Florida Panthers will take on the New York Rangers.

The Winter Classic is an annual outdoor game played across the New Year’s Day. These games usually feature one home city team and one away team in special jerseys.

YouTube video

This time, the Winter Classic game took place at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. It saw the Chicago Blackhawks going against the St. Louis Blues on New Year’s Eve.

FS Video

Despite the home advantage, the Blackhawks lost 6-2, leaving them with a 0-0-5 record in the Winter Classic. This ignited strong reactions from fans across social media, who urged the league to feature someone else instead of choosing the Hawks again and again.

As per reports, the 2026 Winter Classic game will be played on January 2nd, 2026 at the LoanDepot Park, home of another MLB team – the Miami Marlins. This will be the first participation of the Panthers in any outdoor event. Whereas for the Rangers, this will be their sixth outdoor game.

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Apart from that, the 2026 Stadium Series will see the Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Boston Bruins at the Raymond James Stadium, home of NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Social media reacts to Panthers-Rangers Winter Classic Game taking place in Miami

Following the 2025 Winter Classic Game, the fans took to their social media account to express their disappointment regarding the two teams participating in the game. The announcement of the 2026 event has once again ignited furious reactions from fans.

Florida Panthers and New York Rangers [Image Credit: Forever Blueshirts]
Florida Panthers and New York Rangers [Image Credit: Forever Blueshirts]

Some users on X were unhappy with the location of the game being in Miami. They compared the weather during the time of the event and slammed the league for this decision. Others pointed out that the Panthers should have at least faced the Lightning instead of the Rangers. One user wrote, “No one wants this” while reacting to this on X.

Check out that and other top reactions below:

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Judging by the reactions of the fans, they do not seem to be super excited about this matchup. However, only time will tell how this game will plan out in front of a packed crowd at the loanDepot Park.