Outdoor games have become a staple of the NHL's regular season schedule with contests being staged in some of baseball's and football's most iconic stadiums. The NHL has even held

Outdoor hockey in Florida is a long time coming, but the Panthers and Lightning have represented the Eastern Conference in each of the last five Stanley Cup Finals and they’ve built heavily engaged fan bases.

Ice hockey rinks will join palm trees in sunny Florida next year when the NHL stages unprecedented outdoor games in Miami and Tampa, the league announced on Wednesday.