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Published Dec 04, 2025 • 3 minute read
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A screenshot captured by Dave Minuk reveals plans for a Heritage Classic game between the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25, 2026. Photo by Dave Minuk /Illegal CurveArticle content
It seems somebody with the NHL or the Winnipeg Jets jumped the gun, and it’s pointing straight at Winnipeg.
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Appearing very briefly on the Jets’ website on Thursday was an information page for next year’s Heritage Classic, the league’s Canadian-based outdoor game.
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The page, up for maybe half an hour before being taken down, showed the game will be played in Winnipeg on Sunday, Oct. 25, and will feature the Jets against the Montreal Canadiens.
The information included a link where fans could sign up for updates, including ticket information. That link was also quickly disabled.
The page showed an 11 a.m. release time, but no date.
Winnipegger Dave Minuk, editor of the Illegal Curve hockey website and podcast, suspected the news may have been dropped accidentally, as there was no statement from the NHL or the Jets, so he grabbed a screenshot of it.
The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News
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The news quickly made the website of the Montreal Gazette in addition to illegalcurve.com.
A source with the Jets wouldn’t confirm or deny the news.
Expect an announcement confirming it this weekend.
Sports Illustrated (si.com) also ran with the story under the headline, NHL Accidentally Leaks Canadiens vs. Jets Heritage Classic Game.
This will be the second Heritage Classic played at the home of the CFL’s Blue Bombers, the first one coming in 2016 at which the Jets faced the Edmonton Oilers.
The stadium seats 32,343 for football and has become quite the gathering/party place for football fans, the Bombers filling it for all nine home games this past season, something they’ve never done before.
The Jets also took part in the 2019 game in Regina, taking on the Calgary Flames.
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The Heritage Classic has usually involved Canadian teams, but there was an exception when Toronto took on Buffalo in 2022.
The first one was played in 2003, when Montreal visited Edmonton on a frigid November day. Its success – more than 57,000 fans attended — led to the creation of the annual Winter Classic between American teams and held in the U.S..
The NHL revived the Canadian version in 2011 and pitted the Canadiens against Calgary. More than 41,000 fans packed McMahon Stadium for that one.
The next site was B.C. Place in Vancouver in 2014, featuring the Canucks and Ottawa.
The 2016 game was in Winnipeg on Oct. 23, as the Oilers beat the Jets, 3-0, on a day that saw the mercury hit 10 C, a bit above seasonal for that time of year.
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The start time of that game had to be delayed by two hours, though, as the glare from the sun off the ice made it dangerous for players.
“I feel bad that we’re delayed but that’s the nature of this business,” Jets co-owner Mark Chipman said that day. “It’s a nationally televised hockey game and those things are set for good and valid reasons. It’s unfortunate but I think people understand.”
“For the players the two-hour delay was a bit annoying,” Blake Wheeler, Jets captain at the time, said. “But for the fans it might have helped get hydrated there a little bit. It was great weather, they did a great job with the ice. You really couldn’t ask for better conditions. It was a great weekend for Winnipeg. The community had a great time embracing the festivities.”
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Three years later, the Jets won the 2019 game against Calgary, 2-1.
The next one pitted Toronto against Buffalo in Hamilton in 2022, while Calgary visited Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium a year later.
There wasn’t a Heritage Classic last season and there won’t be one this season, making next October’s the first one in three years.
The event also typically draws legends of the past to take part in an alumni game.
Former Jets great Dale Hawerchuk and Wayne Gretzky were two of the legends skating in the 2016 Heritage Classic, deemed a success despite the sun delay.
“There’s a bit of a circus atmosphere, and it’s been in town for about five days,” Paul Maurice, then Jets head coach, said. “It was great to have it here … the climate was fantastic out there, the ice was just exceptional for an outdoor rink. It was great for the city of Winnipeg.
“We showed ourselves in a very positive light.”
No pun was intended, as far as we know.
We’ll see what the weather will bring to next year’s game, but it’s already made history.
Just call it The Leak.
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
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