The NHL is bringing back the Heritage Classic next season.
The Winnipeg Jets will host the Montreal Canadiens in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 25 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
It will be the eighth Heritage Classic game, and the first since Oct. 29, 2023, when the Edmonton Oilers won 5-2 against the Calgary Flames at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. It will be the 46th NHL outdoor regular-season game.
The Jets will be hosting a Heritage Classic for the second time at Princess Auto Stadium; they lost 3-0 to the Oilers in front of 33,240 fans on Oct. 23, 2016.
“When Winnipeg hosted the Heritage Classic in 2016, we were blown away by the amazing fan response and how great the venue was. Given the success the Jets have had since we were last there, it’s fitting to bring another outdoor spectacle to Winnipeg,” said Steve Mayer, president, NHL content and events. “We can’t wait for fans to experience everything we have in store for next October — we guarantee the event will feel completely different this time. We know that their fans will bring that same high-octane energy they bring to the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the 2026 NHL Heritage Classic.”
The NHL introduced the Heritage Classic on Nov. 22, 2003, when the Canadiens defeated the Oilers 4-3 in the first NHL regular-season outdoor game at Commonwealth Stadium.
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 the announcement of the game, Tim Hortons and the NHL announced a new multiyear deal 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 supports the full hockey spectrum and will continue to create compelling and engaging integrated programs to engage NHL fans.
Winnipeg will be playing an outdoor game for the third time, all in the Heritage Classic series. The Jets are 1-1-0, losing to the Oilers in 2016 before a 2-1 overtime win against the Flames at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, on Oct. 26, 2019.
Montreal will play its first outdoor game since 2017 and fifth overall (2-2-0). Along with its victory in the first Heritage Classic, it won 5-1 against the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 1 of that year. The Canadiens lost 4-0 to the Flames in the 2011 Heritage Classic at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Feb. 20, 2011, and 3-0 to the Ottawa Senators in the NHL100 Classic at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Dec. 16, 2017.
As part of the new multiyear deal, Tim Hortons will continue having a national marketing presence across League touchpoints in Canada, including the NHL’s linear, digital and social channels, digitally enhanced dasher boards, camera-visible in-arena inventory during games and events, and broadcast integrations across Rogers in Canada.
For more than 10 years, Tim Hortons has engaged hockey fans coast to coast with one of the most successful and iconic sponsorship programs in the Canadian marketplace — Tim Hortons NHL Hockey Cards.
Since 2020, Tim Hortons has leveraged the NHL partnership to connect with Canadian hockey fans through a free-to-play, pick-‘em style hockey game in their mobile app for Tims Rewards Members called the Tims NHL Hockey Challenge. Tims Rewards Members have the chance to win free coffee for a week, daily Tims Rewards points, monthly prizes and a grand prize when picking players they think will score.
Tim Hortons supports the full hockey spectrum, from Timbits minor hockey to junior hockey, and the NHL’s seven Canadian member clubs. Tim Hortons has also enhanced the NHL fan experience through its partnership at other tentpole League events and programming including NHL Street, 2016 World Cup of Hockey, 2024 Rogers NHL All-Star, and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
The NHL will host the 44th and 45th regular-season outdoor games in Florida this season. The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers play in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot Park in Miami on Jan. 2 (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS), and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Bruins in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Feb. 1 (Time TBD; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
A complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games can be found here.
