A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, especially when it's for old times' sake.
The NHL announced on Wednesday that the 2026 NHL Winter Classic will take place in Miami, FL on Jan. 2 between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers; and one Hall of Famer is looking forward to a little gamesmanship with another.
Panthers legendary goaltender Roberto Luongo took to X to challenge the Rangers' fabled netminder Henrik Lundqvist for a square-off at the annual alumni game that takes place between the two franchises that play in the Winter Classic each year.
"Alumni game? Head to head vs @HLundqvist like the good old days! What says you? Playing an outdoor game was always a dream of mine 🫠," Luongo said on X following the announcement.
The game will be hosted at loanDepot Park, home of the MLB's Miami Marlins, and will be the first outdoor game to ever be hosted in the state of Florida in addition to the Stadium Series slated to be played in Tampa Bay between the Lightning and the Boston Bruins.
Both Luongo and Lundqvist are their respective franchise's all-time wins leaders. Luongo is the NHL's No. 4 all-time winnegest netminder at 489 and Lundqvist is No. 6 on the list at 459.
The two faced each other many times throughout their careers in the 2000's and 2010's as Luongo also had stints with the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks while Lundqvist spent his entire NHL tenure with the Rangers.
After spending five of the first six years of his NHL career with the Panthers, Luongo was traded to Vancouver in the summer of 2006. There, he would spearhead several Stanley Cup-contending teams with the Sedin brothers, including a trip to the Cup Final in 2011 when the Canucks lost to the Bruins in seven games.
Luongo would return to the Panthers in 2013 to play out the final six seasons of his career before retiring after the 2018-19 campaign.
Lundqvist had the same effect on all of the Rangers teams he anchored. New York only missed the playoffs three times (not counting the 2019-20 COVID bubble format), in Lundqvist's decorated 15-year career. Like Luongo, despite being one of the greatest to ever play the position, Lundqvist only got as far as the Stanley Cup Final, losing in five games to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
Luongo was a three-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the league's best goaltender each season, but never won the award. Lundqvist won the award once in 2011-12.
Both Luongo and Lundqvist led their respective countries to Olympic gold medals.
The defending Stanley Cup-champion Panthers defeated the Rangers, who were the Presidents' Trophy winners, last season in the Eastern Conference Final. This year, the Panthers are 2-0 against the Rangers.
Read more: Rangers' Enforcer Matt Rempe Eligible to Return vs Devils: 'I'm a Marked Man'
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