Avalanche to visit Mammoth for 2027 Winter Classic

The Colorado Avalanche will face host Utah Mammoth in the 2027 Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, the NHL announced Wednesday.

The outdoor game's date and start time have yet to be released. All but one of the previous Winter Classics were played on New Year's Day or Jan. 2.

Neither franchise has participated in a Winter Classic before, and next season's matchup will be the Mammoth's first outdoor game. The Avalanche are 1-2-0 in past outdoor appearances.

Rice-Eccles Stadium can seat over 54,000 people for University of Utah college football games. The stadium opened in 1998 and hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, a role it is expected to reprise when Utah hosts the 2034 Winter Games.

The Avalanche and Mammoth are Central Division rivals. Colorado entered Wednesday with 69 points, the most in the NHL by a wide margin, and Utah ranked 10th in the Western Conference with 43.

Staged annually since 2008, with limited exceptions, the Winter Classic was not held in 2013 due to an ongoing lockout and in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Rangers walloped the host Florida Panthers 5-1 last Friday in the 2026 Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park, home of baseball's Miami Marlins.

This season's remaining outdoor game -- the 2026 Stadium Series matchup -- pits the Boston Bruins against the host Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1.

Next season on Oct. 25, the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Montreal Canadiens to Princess Auto Stadium for the Heritage Classic, a showcase traditionally reserved for Canadian teams.