The Montreal Canadiens may be contesting next season's edition of the Heritage Classic, but they're no longer looking for just one outdoor appearance this decade.
In his latest edition of 32 Thoughts (the written version this time, not the podcast), Elliotte Friedman reinforced a recent report by TVA's Renaud Lavoie, writing that the Canadiens are looking to build a temporary stadium at the Parc Jean-Drapeau site. It would be able to host well over 40,000 people, and the team is looking to have the project completed by the 2028-29 NHL season.
Any outdoor event held by the Habs would include a PWHL game. Montreal is home to the PWHL's Montreal Victoire, who currently sit in second place in the PWHL standings.
Parc Jean-Drapeau is made up of both the Sainte-Hélène and Notre-Dame islands, and is home to a wide range of annual events. These include music festivals like Osheaga and sporting events such as Formula One's Canadian Grand Prix.
The Habs were previously involved in four outdoor games, with the team winning two of them. The first victory came in what was the NHL's first competitive outdoor game, which took the form of the 2003 Heritage Classic. That game was contested at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the CFL's Edmonton Elks, and it saw the Habs defeat the Edmonton Oilers by a final score of 4-3. The Habs then went on to win the 2016 edition of the Winter Classic, beating the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-1 at Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL's New England Patriots. Â
One of the Canadiens' two losses in outdoor games came in the 2011 edition of the Heritage Classic, which took place at McMahon Stadium. That game saw the Habs get shut out by the Calgary Flames; the game ended with a 4-0 scoreline. The other loss saw the Habs lose 3-0 to the Ottawa Senators in the NHL 100 Classic, which took place at TD Place Stadium.
The 2026 Heritage Classic will see the Canadiens take on the Winnipeg Jets at Princess Auto Stadium, the home of the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That game is scheduled to take place on October 25.