Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens to play 2026 NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium during CFL season

Photo courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The 2026 CFL schedule isn’t slated to be released until next week, but you can bet that the announcement won’t include a home game for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the final week of the regular season.

Princess Auto Stadium has been selected as the host venue for the NHL’s 2026 Heritage Classic, turning the football field into an ice rink. The Winnipeg Jets will host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, October 25.

The Blue Bombers and the University of Manitoba Bisons both call Princess Auto Stadium home, but will be forced to vacate for the week while hockey festivities take over. Fortunately, the event is scheduled a week before the playoffs are expected to start for either team.

First held in 2003, the Heritage Classic is the NHL’s outdoor series exclusively held in Canada. The 2026 edition of the event will be its eighth iteration and the second to occur in Winnipeg, with the city last hosting the event in 2016.

Other CFL venues that have hosted the event include Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton (2003, 2023), McMahon Stadium in Calgary (2011), BC Place in Vancouver (2014), Mosaic Stadium in Regina (2019), and Hamilton Stadium in Hamilton (2022). BMO Field in Toronto hosted the Centennial Classic in 2017 and TD Place in Ottawa held the NHL 100 Classic the same year.

No outdoor NHL game has ever been played at Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal — the only CFL venue for which that is true.

This will be the third Heritage Classic appearance for both the Canadiens and Jets, though Montreal has played in two additional outdoor games. Both teams have .500 records when playing outdoors.

Princess Auto Stadium hosted a crowd of 33,240 for its last Heritage Classic. The stadium regularly holds 32,343 seats, which the Bombers sold out for all nine home games in 2025.