Picture it.
More than 50,000 people packed into Rice-Eccles Stadium on New Year’s Eve with frosty breath and high hopes; Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche fans bundled up alike, stretching their hockey jerseys over their ski jackets to display their allegiance in a budding rivalry.
At such a landmark event as the Winter Classic, which of those fan bases deserves to see its team in plain white jerseys?
If the NHL maintains its streak of good decisions, the answer will be neither.
In most cases, an NHL team’s home jersey is much more vibrant than its away set. The Mammoth are a good example of it — the black jersey features the team’s primary logo of an angry mammoth, while the white jersey just spells out the word “Utah.”
The league seemed to recognize that last season, as it allowed certain special occasions to feature home jerseys for both teams. The general consensus among fans was that it looked amazing.
Outdoor games typically come with the introduction of a new jersey for both teams, so a color-on-color matchup wouldn’t likely be Utah’s black jersey against Colorado’s maroon. Mammoth fans have been begging for a “mountain blue” set, which might contrast nicely with a newly designed Avalanche maroon jersey.
Regardless of what the Mammoth and the NHL come up with, fans will be glad to diversify their closets. Between the Winter Classic and the “Hometown Remix” jerseys that the league is reportedly releasing this season, the Delta Center should get a bit more colorful.
Has the NHL done color-on-color matchups in previous outdoor games?
There is precedent for double-color matchups at outdoor games.
The Detroit Red Wings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2014 Winter Classic, with the teams wearing red and blue, respectively.
In 2017 and again in 2019, the Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Philadelphia Flyers for the Stadium Series. The teams took turns donning black while the other wore its primary color (yellow for Pittsburgh, orange for Philadelphia).
The Flyers did it again in 2021 at the “NHL Outdoors” event when they took on the Boston Bruins on the edge of Lake Tahoe, and the Bruins did it again last season when they played the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series.
All that said, it’s still much more common that one team wears either white or cream.
What is the Winter Classic?
The NHL has three marquis outdoor events: The Heritage Classic, which features two Canadian teams; the Stadium Series, which usually takes place at a notable football or baseball venue; and the Winter Classic, which celebrates the new year.
While outdoor games count the same as any other regular-season matchup in the standings, they’re also celebratory. Mammoth owner Ryan Smith gave a glimpse at what the festivities will look like in Salt Lake City for the final week of 2026.
“Our hope is that this is a whole weekend, that this is a version of, like, an All-Star Game, where we come in and we can program and activate our state and show our state off,” Smith said.
Among other things, he mentioned a concert at the Delta Center after the game, where folks can celebrate as the ball drops to usher in the new year.
“It is a spectacular gathering of people coming together to experience a truly unique event,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at a press conference after announcing the Winter Classic in January. “When we get done decorating the stadium, you won’t recognize it. You won’t think it’s a football stadium, you’ll think it was the ultimate hockey venue.”
How does the NHL set up outdoor games?
After some trial and error, the league’s technicians have boiled the outdoor game down to a science. As you might imagine, it’s more challenging to maintain ice when it’s at the mercy of the ambient weather.
Crews are able to set up a temporary rink on the playing field, complete with boards, benches and penalty boxes. They arrive at the site days — sometimes weeks — in advance to make the ice and ensure that it stays at an optimal temperature.
Some stadiums have retractable roofs, which make it easier for the ice technicians to control the temperature and repel rain and snow. In Utah’s case, Rice-Eccles Stadium is permanently open, so in the event of rain or excessive heat, the league might cover it with a tarp or a tent.
After successfully holding a game at the roofless Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida last year, the league isn’t too worried about the weather in Salt Lake City.
“Building the rink here, outfitting the stadium, based on the climate, that’s going to be much easier for us than it was worrying about whether or not it was going to be 85 degrees with 100% humidity (in Florida),” Bettman said.