The site and matchup for the 2025 NHL Winter Classic will be unveiled Wednesday during the first intermission of the game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; TNT, MAX, TVAS).
The 2025 NHL Winter Classic is scheduled to be the 42nd regular-season outdoor game in NHL history. A total of 39 have been played, with two more scheduled for this season -- the New Jersey Devils will play the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 17 followed by the New York Rangers taking on the New York Islanders on Feb. 18 as part of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Next season’s game will be the 16th NHL Winter Classic. The first, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, was played Jan. 1, 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. The Seattle Kraken defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in this year’s Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
The game in Seattle was the second of four outdoor games this season; the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames played in the 2023 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Oct. 29. 2023.
Including the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, 29 of the 32 NHL teams have played in a regular-season outdoor game. Only the Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers have not played outdoors.
The announcement Wednesday will come during a doubleheader on TNT. Following the Rangers-Lightning game, the Chicago Blackhawks will host the Minnesota Wild (9:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN360, TVAS).
