NHL Outdoor Hockey Games: What You Need to Know for 2026-27

Update (September 30): The article contains the most updated information on the NHL’s outdoor games.

To give fans of professional hockey more ways to experience the game live, the National Hockey League has hosted a handful of different outdoor specialty games, including the Heritage Classic, the Winter Classic and the Stadium Series. Each game brings a different appeal to the forefront. For example, the Heritage Classic is typically played between Canadian teams and the Stadium Series is usually played in a large football or baseball stadium.

Coming into the 2026–27 season, there have been seven installments of the Heritage Classic to date, 17 installments of the Stadium Series® and 17 installments of the Winter Classic.

Upcoming NHL Outdoor Games

For the 2026-27 season, the NHL will host one installment each of the Winter Classic, Stadium Series and the Heritage Classic.

NHL Outdoor Hockey Games

The NHL currently holds outdoor games under three distinct branding identities: the Winter Classic, the Stadium Series and the Heritage Classic.

NHL Winter Classic

Played on December 31, January 1 or January 2 each year, the Winter Classic has been on the NHL schedule every year since 2009 (with exceptions of 2013 due to a strike and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Having been hosted already by stadiums such as Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and Citi Field in New York City, the Winter Classic is routinely one of the top attended and viewed regular season games each year.

Buy NHL Winter Classic tickets.

NHL Stadium Series

The NHL Stadium Series is distinctive from the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic because it’s held later in the season (usually in late January, February or early March) and is played only in an outdoor football or baseball stadium in the United States. There were four installments in the inaugural run of the Stadium Series, and there has been at least one game played each year since 2014 (except for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Buy NHL Stadium Series tickets.

NHL Heritage Classic

Despite being the first official regular season game played outdoors in 2003, there have only been seven games played under the Heritage Classic brand, with the first five being played exclusively between Canadian teams. Each game in the Heritage Classic has been played in Canada, with the next game set to be played at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens.

Buy NHL Heritage Classic tickets.

History of Outdoor Hockey Games

The NHL debuted outdoor hockey for the first time back in 1954 in an exhibition game between the Detroit Red Wings and an amateur hockey team from the Marquette Branch Prison, the Marquette Prison Pirates. It was a promotional event set up by the GM of the Red Wings and sponsored by Stroh’s Brewery. Two years later, the league set up a similar exhibition, but this time in Boston between the Boston Bruins and inmates from Bay Roberts, Brigus and Shearstown (each team getting a period of play against professionals).

The NHL debuted the Heritage Classic in November of 2003. The Classic was to celebrate the creation of the game in Canada between Canadian teams. In the inaugural game, the Montreal Canadiens bested the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in front of 57,167 fans.

Five years later, the NHL debuted the Winter Classic, played in Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Pittsburgh Penguins powered by Sidney Crosby beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a dramatic shootout victory.

The league showcased the Stadium Series for the first time in 2014 when they hosted four games in outdoor baseball venues over five days: the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 at Dodger Stadium, and the New York Rangers won twice in two tries in Yankee Stadium, first over the New Jersey Devils 7-3 and later 2-1 over crosstown rivals the New York Islanders.

The largest attended hockey game of all time was the 2014 installment of the Winter Classic in Michigan Stadium where 105,491 people watched the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout on New Year’s Day.