Say what you will about the 2026 Winter Classic, but 2027's Winter Classic could easily end up being, well, a classic.
Just five days after the New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers in the 2026 edition of the Winter Classic by a score of 5-1, the NHL announced that Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the Utah Utes' college football team, would play host to the 2027 Winter Classic.
The chosen matchup? The Utah Mammoth versus the Colorado Avalanche.
The 2027 Winter Classic will mark the first time that both the Utah Mammoth and the Colorado Avalanche play in the league's annual New Year's-centred outdoor game. While this will be the fourth time the Avalanche will play in an outdoor game, it will serve as the first away game the team has played in an outdoor environment. For the Utah Mammoth, it'll be the first outdoor game in the franchise's history.
This matchup makes sense for a couple of reasons. For one, the Utah Mammoth and the Colorado Avalanche both play in the Central Division; considering that the Winter Classic does tend to highlight divisional rivalries, it makes sense to pit the two teams against each other.
The matchup also makes sense in geographical terms; both Salt Lake City and Denver, where the Mammoth and Avalanche play their respective home games, are located about an hour away from the Rocky Mountains, making this matchup seem like a "Rocky Mountain Rivalry." In addition, both cities are a mere eight hours apart by car; it's also worth noting that the flight time between the two cities is merely two hours.
Of the last four editions of the Winter Classic, the 2027 game is going to be the second to feature at least one recent expansion or relocated franchise; the first was the 2024 game featuring the Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights. The 2027 edition will also be the third game in the last four years to feature at least one franchise that has never appeared in the Winter Classic.
No official date has been confirmed for the 2027 Winter Classic.