- Anders Lee signed with the Mammoth on July 1 without knowing Utah had an outdoor game on the schedule
- Utah hosts Colorado at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Dec. 31 in the first outdoor game in franchise history
- Read below for what Lee said about the venue and his one previous outdoor game
Anders Lee picked the Utah Mammoth for the roster, the city and his family. The outdoor game was a box he did not know existed.
Lee signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract with Utah on July 1 after 14 seasons with the New York Islanders. Later that same day he found out the Mammoth are hosting the Discover NHL Winter Classic against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 31 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Speaking Monday at Da Beauty League in Edina, Minnesota, the veteran forward was asked about landing on a team with an outdoor game already booked, per Heather Rule of NHL.com:
“When I found out about that later that day, I was pretty pumped and excited. What an awesome venue it’s going to be. And what a great atmosphere playing a great team in Colorado.”
The league locked in the New Year’s Eve date back in April:
The setting does most of the selling. Rice-Eccles sits on the University of Utah campus with the mountains behind it and downtown Salt Lake City below, and it holds more than 54,000 for college football.
Utah becomes the 32nd NHL club to play an outdoor game when the puck drops, the last team in the league to get there. It will be the 18th Winter Classic.
Lee has one regular-season outdoor game on his record. He scored in the 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium, a 6-5 overtime loss to the Rangers.
Minnesota is still where he spends his summers. Lee played high school hockey at St. Thomas Academy and Edina, which is how he first ran into Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt years ago, and he skated with Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller for the United States at the 2017 World Championship.
He kept the Schmidt endorsement short:
“Great to have him to lean on.”
Monday’s skate carried a little extra weight. Da Beauty League announced in May that 2026 is its final summer after a decade at Braemar Arena:
Lee, 36, leaves New York fifth in Islanders history in games played (923), fourth in goals (308) and 10th in points (549). He put up 19 goals and 23 assists in 82 games last season, and he starts this one in a new uniform with New Year’s Eve already circled.
