NEW YORK -- The NHL today announced the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens will face off outdoors in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™, at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. The game is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
The event will be the eighth NHL Heritage Classic, following 2003 in Edmonton (first NHL outdoor regular-season game), 2011 in Calgary, 2014 in Vancouver, 2016 in Winnipeg, 2019 in Regina, Saskatchewan, 2022 in Hamilton, Ontario and 2023 in Edmonton. Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg will be the site of the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic for a second time; on Oct. 23, 2016, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Jets 3-0 before a crowd of 33,240.
Tim Hortons returns as title sponsor of the NHL Heritage Classic, marking the seventh time the iconic Canadian brand has sponsored the event. As part of today’s announcement, Tim Hortons and the NHL announced a multiyear extension of their Canadian partnership that includes Tim Hortons maintaining its status as the Official Coffee and Coffee Based Beverages, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Breakfast and Baked Goods of the NHL in Canada. As a partner of the NHL and the NHL Heritage Classic since 2010, Tim Hortons will continue to create compelling and engaging integrated programs to engage NHL fans.
The Jets are 1-1-0 in outdoor regular-season action and will be playing in their third such contest. In addition to their loss in 2016, Winnipeg defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 in overtime in the 2019 NHL Heritage Classic at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
The Canadiens are set to skate in their fifth outdoor game, and first since 2017. Montreal, 2-2-0 all time in outdoor games, defeated Edmonton in the 2003 NHL Heritage Classic and went on to play in the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic at Calgary, a 4-0 loss to the Flames. Montreal played in the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2016, defeating the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Canadiens matched up against the Ottawa Senators in 2017 at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park for the NHL100 Classic, a 3-0 loss on Dec. 16, 2017.
A complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games can be found here.
Additional details about the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™, including ticketing, start time and broadcast information, will be announced when available. Fans can sign up for news and updates here.
Princess Auto Stadium has been home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers since its 2013 opening. It has hosted the Grey Cup twice to crown a champion of the Canadian Football League, first in 2015 (103rd, Edmonton def. Ottawa) and again last month on Nov. 16, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup. The stadium also hosts the University of Manitoba Bisons football team.
The Winnipeg Jets are the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, after amassing a league-high 116 points during a 56-win regular season in 2024-2025, their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. Adding to the Jets’ collection of hardware is star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has captured the last two Vezina Trophies, and has won the award three times (2019-20 as well). Hellebuyck has finished top four in Vezina Trophy voting in six of the last eight seasons, dating to 2017-18. The Canadiens were also a playoff team in 2024-2025, and are led by Captain Nick Suzuki and an exciting young core of under-25 stars, including forwards Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov, and defenseman Lane Hutson.
