Jets to host Canadiens in 2026 NHL Heritage Classic
Outdoor hockey is coming back to Winnipeg.
The NHL announced Saturday that the 2026 Heritage Classic will be held on Sunday, October 25th, with the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Montreal Canadiens.
We're headed back outdoors.
The 2026 Tim Hortons @NHL Heritage Classic is coming to WINNIPEG! pic.twitter.com/hkHxtaipvf
The game will be played in Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium, which is the home of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It will be the second Heritage Classic held at Princess Auto Stadium, with the last time taking place on October 23rd, 2016, as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Jets 3-0 before a near capacity crowd of 33,240.
The event will be the eighth Heritage Classic overall, with the last one taking place in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on October 29th, 2023. In that game, the Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2.
Next October’s Heritage Classic in Winnipeg is the first outdoor game scheduled for the 2026-27 NHL season. This season, there will be two outdoor games, both to be played in the unconventional setting of the state of Florida. The 2026 Winter Classic is set to take place in Miami’s LoanDepot Park, home of the MLB’s Miami Marlins, on January 2nd, with the Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers. The 2026 Stadium Series game is scheduled for February 1st in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Boston Bruins.
When people think about the NHL’s current commitment to playing outdoors, they usually think about the first Winter Classic that took place on New Year’s Day, 2008, when the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout thanks to Sidney Crosby’s iconic shootout goal through the softly falling snowflakes in Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium.
sidney crosby’s shootout winner against buffalo is the best winter classic moment of all-time pic.twitter.com/HZErGulTO9
— ego (@notmalkinego) January 2, 2023However, the first Heritage Classic dates even further back, as the Canadiens beat the Oilers 4-3 in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on November 22nd, 2003.