According to Elliotte Friedman, the NHL is weighing their options regarding an outdoor game at West Point.
The NHL has deep ties with the military. Several of its owners have ties to the military as well. According to Elliotte Friedman, the preseason hockey game between New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers might not be the last time fans see a hockey game at West Point.
Now, there are two teams who have owners with direct ties to the Army. The first team is the Florida Panthers. Their owner, Vincent Viola, graduated from West Point with a bachelor’s degree. Obviously he would probably want his team to play in any outdoor game there.
While the Rangers and Panthers don’t have much of a rivalry, perhaps the New York Islanders would work. They had an epic playoff series last year, after all. Also, the New Jersey Devils have a bit of a history with the Panthers. But it’s probably not strong enough to justify an outdoor game between the two teams.
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Another more intriguing option is Las Vegas. Las Vegas has ties to the military because their owner Bill Foley has ties to West Point. An outdoor game would be a good way to introduce the expansion team to the rest of the NHL and perhaps get them a bit more money.
The Rangers make the most sense to serve as one of the teams. However, the Rangers would have to be the “visiting team” because of a tax exemption. So maybe a Rangers and Devils matchup would make sense. While a Rangers and Islanders game would be great, the league has already had those teams play each other.