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Florida Panthers To Host Winter Classic, Tampa Bay Lightning To Host Stadium Series

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The Commissioner of the National Hockey League has followed through with his vague promise from the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The Florida Panthers announced they would host the New York Rangers in the 2026 Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park, home of the MLB’s Miami Marlins. Their intra-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they would host the Boston Bruins in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’ll be the southernmost outdoor event the NHL has attempted since successfully pulling off the 2020 NHL Winter Classic in Dallas, Texas. Unlike the Cotton Bowl Stadium, LoanDepot Park has some flexibility with the weather thanks to a retractable roof. There’s a high chance the roof will be used for a hockey event given that the temperature in Miami on January 1st, 2025 reached a high of 81°F (27°C ).

The Panthers organization will take part in their first Winter Classic and outdoor event. This is quite different from their opponent, the Rangers, who have already participated in two Winter Classics and three Stadium Series games.

Traveling northwest to Tampa Bay, the Lightning will play in their second Stadium Series contest in franchise history after defeating the Nashville Predators in 2022 at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Like their in-state counterpart, it’ll be the first time the Lightning have hosted an outdoor event in franchise history.

Unfortunately, unlike the stadium amenities at LoanDepot Park, Raymond James Stadium does not have a roof and is exposed to the elements. Tampa is relatively milder than Miami in terms of heat, but still recorded a high of 64°F (18°C) in February of 2024 which could make the ice conditions more unpleasant.

Panthers Recall Tobias Björnfot

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The Panthers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from AHL Charlotte. Florida had an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

It’s the first time Björnfot has been recalled since clearing waivers during training camp. The Panthers claimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Golden Knights at last season’s trade deadline, but he has only logged one NHL game since then, skating 17:01 against the Rangers on March 23, 2024, and serving as a healthy scratch for the entirety of Florida’s run to the 2024 Stanley Cup.

A first-round pick of the Kings in 2019, Björnfot has spent much of his time as a fringe roster player and has never secured anything above a third-pairing role. The Swedish native has been passable in Charlotte this season but not overly impressive, recording a pair of goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games with a -1 rating.

Björnfot has one NHL goal across 120 appearances since debuting in the 2019-20 campaign, adding 14 assists for 15 points with a -20 rating. Only four of those appearances came last season, a tumultuous one where he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights from L.A. before landing on the wire again and heading to the Cats.

Drafted as a stay-at-home piece, Björnfot has 42 points with a +7 rating in 136 career AHL games, where he’s spent most of the last three seasons. His last campaign as a full-time NHLer came in L.A. in 2021-22, when he dressed in a career-high 70 games and posted eight assists with a -12 rating while averaging 16:46 per game.

Björnfot will likely sit in the press box but comes up as injury insurance with Niko Mikkola, who’s missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, still projected to be unavailable tonight against the Avalanche. He could make his season debut if Aaron Ekblad, who didn’t practice over the weekend, can’t go due to an undisclosed injury.

Björnfot can remain on Florida’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he needs waivers to return to Charlotte.

Sam Bennett Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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  • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has fined Florida Panthers’ center Sam Bennett $5K for roughing Pittsburgh Penguins’ Drew O’Connor in last night’s contest. It’s the second time Bennett has been issued a fine by the Department of Player Safety and the fourth time he’s faced supplemental discipline. During the incident, Bennett attempted to hit O’Connor behind Pittsburgh’s net and threw his right hand into O’Connor’s face.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Bettman: Panthers To Host Outdoor Game In 2025-26

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After the Blue Jackets host the Red Wings in a Stadium Series matchup at Ohio Stadium later this season, there will be only two NHL franchises left that haven’t played in an outdoor game – the Panthers and Utah. The former will be coming off the list quickly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday’s Winter Classic broadcast that the league would announce an outdoor game in Miami in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s going to be a little unusual,’’ Bettman said (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). “It’s going to be a little more unique. Some people will think we’ve lost our minds. We’re not ready to announce it, but we will soon. And it’s going to be good.’’

The game will take place at LoanDepot Park, which hosts MLB’s Miami Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, which will presumably be necessary to keep an ice sheet intact in a South Florida climate that routinely sees 70-degree highs in winter.

Those hoping to see an intra-state rivalry matchup between the Panthers and Lightning will be out of luck, Richards reports. That matchup “appears to be off the table,” but the Lightning will still likely be getting their second outdoor game in franchise history in 2025-26 or 2026-27, sources tell Richards – this time on their turf at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, Richards reports that the Panthers’ visiting club will mark the sixth outdoor game appearance for the Bruins or Rangers.

If the roof at LoanDepot Park remains closed throughout the game in addition to the rink-building process, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. The 2014 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was played with the retractable roof deployed due to rain in the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not necessarily temperature, would likely decide whether the Panthers could play with the roof open.

Sources told Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet last month that Florida would likely get an outdoor game next season.

Jesper Boqvist Cleared To Return

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  • Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist has been cleared to return to the lineup, team reporter Jameson Olive relays (Twitter link). He missed the last three games while being in concussion protocol.  Boqvist is in his first season with Florida and has five goals and six assists through 33 games so far while averaging 13 minutes a night of playing time.  Although he was eligible to be placed on IR during his absence, the team elected not to do so.

Panthers Recall Rasmus Asplund

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The Panthers announced that center Rasmus Asplund has been recalled from AHL Charlotte. They’ve been rolling with an open spot on the active roster for quite a while, so no corresponding move is necessary.

Asplund, 27, will play in his first NHL game in 618 days this afternoon against the Lightning. He enters the lineup in place of winger Jonah Gadjovich, who head coach Paul Maurice said is unavailable due to an upper-body injury (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Center Jesper Boqvist is also day-to-day with an upper-body issue, so they would’ve only had 11 forwards on hand for today’s intra-state rivalry matchup without a recall.

Asplund is in his second season in the Panthers organization. Briefly an everyday player with the Sabres early in the decade, he fell out of a regular role in the 2022-23 campaign and, after an uneventful post-trade deadline stint with the Predators, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer and settled for a two-way deal with Florida in free agency. After spending all of last season on assignments to Charlotte, he signed a duplicate extension aside from a slightly higher salary guarantee in late June to remain in South Florida and stay off last summer’s free agent market.

The Buffalo second-round pick back in 2016 was a decent two-way player near the bottom of the lineup in his days as an NHL roster fixture. The Swede posted 18 goals, 49 points and a -14 rating in 183 NHL appearances with the Sabres and Preds from 2019-20 to 2022-23, including a career-best 27 points in 80 games with the Sabres in 2021-22. He averaged over 14 minutes per game that season and posted a strong 52.8% shot-attempt share on a defensively challenged Sabres team, earning himself some outside Selke Trophy consideration.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep up that play in more shutdown-oriented minutes at even strength the following season and has since ended up as a minor-league fixture. He’s been a decent top-six piece in Charlotte, posting 19 goals, 41 assists and 60 points with a -2 rating in 92 appearances over the past two seasons. He’s got 10 goals and 16 points in 25 showings thus far in 2024-25.

Asplund can remain on the roster for up to 30 days or play in 10 games until he requires waivers to return to Charlotte. It’s likely that he’ll be returned to the AHL once Boqvist or Gadjovich is ready to return barring an unexpectedly strong showing.

No Supplemental Discipline For Bennett's Hit On Neighbours

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  • Panthers center Sam Bennett won’t face any supplemental discipline for his hit last night against St. Louis winger Jake Neighbours, notes FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link). Bennett made his return to the lineup on Friday after missing a game with the flu.  He’s off to a solid start in his contract year, tallying 13 goals and 14 assists in 32 games, putting himself in good shape for a sizable raise from his current $4.425MM AAV.

Barkov Returns From Illness

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  • Panthers center Aleksander Barkov returned to action tonight against Minnesota, relayed team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). He missed the last two games due to illness.  When healthy, the 29-year-old has been an impactful contributor with 29 points in his first 22 games; his 1.31 points per game average matches his previous best which was set back in the 2021-22 campaign.

Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov A Game-Time Decision

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Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has been announced as a “hopeful” game-time decision for the team’s Monday game against the Edmonton Oilers, per NHL.com’s Jameson Olive. Barkov sat out of Florida’s Saturday loss to the Calgary Flames, and the team’s optional practice on Monday morning, with an illness.

Barkov has continued to be a pillar of the Panthers lineup this season. He’s recorded nine goals and 20 assists in 22 games, averaging out to a 1.32 points-per-game pace – the 13th-best in the NHL. He ranks 10th in the league in assists-per-game (0.91). Barkov has continued his defensive acumen into his 12th NHL season, recording a staggering 62-percent faceoff win rate and 1.72 xGA/60 – both among the best in the league as well.

It’s been an impressive year for the reigning Selke Trophy-winner, though he could now miss his 10th game of the season should he get ruled out tonight. When asked for more detail into the decision, head coach Paul Maurice told NHL.com, “Guys will play through anything, but sometimes it’s just not the smartest thing to do… If he says he can play, then I’m not going to monitor his minutes. We’ll get him out on the ice against one of their two big centermen as much as I possibly can.”

Winger Jonah Gadjovich stepped into a rearranged Panthers lineup in Barkov’s absence. He recorded one shot on net and two hits in 10:30 of ice time. Gadjovich has posted one goal, a -5, and 10 penalty minutes in 15 games this season while averaging the second-fewest minutes (7:29) on the team. Still, he’ll likely return to the lineup should Barkov sit again, with Florida not carrying any additional forwards.

Panthers Recall Mackie Samoskevich, Re-Assign Chris Driedger To AHL

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12/6: According to a team announcement, Florida reversed the swap before tomorrow’s contests against the San Jose Sharks. The news also means netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has returned from his personal leave.

12/2: The Panthers have made a pair of roster moves heading into tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Chris Driedger has been recalled from AHL Charlotte while winger Mackie Samoskevich has been re-assigned to the Checkers.

This is expected to be a short-term move for both players.  Veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did not accompany the team on the road with his wife expecting to give birth to their second child in the near future.  Because Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to recall Driedger outright, Samoskevich, their lone waiver-exempt player, is the roster casualty to allow the team to remain cap-compliant.

Driedger rejoined Florida back in the summer, inking a one-year, one-way deal worth $795K to serve as their third-string option behind Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.  The 30-year-old has played in eight games with the Checkers so far this season, putting up a 3.22 GAA with a .885 SV%.  Driedger has 67 career NHL appearances under his belt (35 of which came in his first stint with the team), posting a 2.45 GAA with a .917 SV%.

As for Samoskevich, the 22-year-old is doing well in his first full NHL season.  He has played in 22 games with the Panthers so far, notching five goals and four assists while averaging 11:35 per game.  His nine points put him in the top ten in scoring among all NHL rookies.  Charlotte is off until Friday so there’s a good chance Samoskevich won’t even suit up in the minors while on assignment given that he’s likely to be brought back up by the weekend.

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