A "Winter Classic" In Miami Kind Of Defeats The Original Purpose

Tonight, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will welcome the New York Rangers to South Florida for a good old hockey game.

While that alone isn't exactly newsworthy, the location is certainly one to turn some heads.

The NHL is hosting its annual Winter Classic in the warm and sunny confines of Miami, Florida, and if you're familiar at all with what that entails, you're probably scratching your head at the logistics of things.

READ: Rangers, Panthers Unveil Winter Classic Uniforms

I'm not going to even begin to pretend I know how they are pulling this off.

It has been unseasonably cool the last few days down here in So-Flo, but the evening low in Miami will be in the mid 50s, so I'm not really sure if that counts as "winter weather" for a sport that is usually played on a frozen pond in Canada.

And that's the problem I have with this whole spectacle.

As many of you may know, I'm a diehard Panthers fan, so any exposure they get is cool by me.

But having a "Winter Classic" in a city that hasn't seen snow since Jimmy Carter was in office feels a little disrespectful to what this particular game was created for in the first place.

When the idea of the Winter Classic was first spawned, the cities the NHL had in mind were places like Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, and beyond.

Even a few years ago, the game was held in Dallas, which isn't exactly Siberia, but having lived there for six years, I know firsthand it can get pretty damn cold there.

South Florida is a different animal altogether, and it's even weirder to see the NHL lean into it with the sand and pink flamingo paraphernalia.

I understand the game is evolving, and more southern markets are becoming relevant. Hell, I just wrote about how The Battle of Florida might be the best rivalry in the sport, but I think there are some traditions that should remain sacred to the northern cities of the NHL.

You can say I'm an old man yelling at clouds, or bring up the fact that the first outdoor NHL game was played in a Las Vegas parking lot, but my point remains.

I'll watch the game tonight because I'll be cheering on my Cats, but here's hoping this is just a one-time thing and that outdoor games never make their way back down here again.

We'll take the beaches and 80 degree December days. You guys keep the Winter Classic up north where it belongs.