The NHL Winter Classic will be played in Utah on New Year's Eve

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The NHL Winter Classic for the 2026-27 season will be played on New Year’s Eve, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Friday.

The Utah Mammoth will host divisional rival Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus.

Bettman was in Salt Lake City for Game 3 of the first-round series between Utah and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said other events will be put together in conjunction with the Winter Classic to run throughout the holiday weekend — highlighted by a postgame concert at the Delta Center on New Year's Eve.

“Our hope is this is a whole weekend that is a version of an all-star game where we can come in and we can program and activate our state and show our state off,” Smith said. “You can expect a weekend of full programming of events, sports, concerts, and activities that will be pretty special.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl