NHL Eyeing New Global Series Locations

The NHL continues to expand its international footprint.

Jon Alfano | Aug 26, 2024

Nov 16, 2023; Stockholm, SWEDEN; General view of the scoreboard during a Global Series NHL hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators at Avicii Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports / Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past several years, the NHL has made it a priority to play at least a few regular season games on an international stage.

This season, those international games include two featuring the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia (Oct. 4-5), and two featuring the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers in Tampere, Finland (Nov. 1-2). Including this season, the NHL will have played 20 regular-season games in Europe since 2017: nine in Sweden (eight in Stockholm, one in Gothenburg), six in Finland (four in Tampere, two in Helskini) and five in Czechia (all in Prague).

However, the league still wants to break into new internaional markets. At the NHL European Player Media Tour earlier this week, deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealed that the league is looking at possible new game sites across Europe.

“I think we have a list of places we’d like to bring teams and play games and develop markets,” Daly said, per NHL.com. “And to the extent we’ve kind of seemed to have settled into a Finland, [Sweden], Czechia rotation, I wouldn’t get too comfortable with that, because I think it will change up probably in the short term.

“I think everybody probably has in their minds, kind of the priority markets,” Daly said. “I think we want to go back to London. I think the players and [NHL] Players’ Association want to go back to London and have a game there. I think Germany and Switzerland are both prime candidates for regular-season games in the future, so probably in the not-too-distant future.”

Typically, the NHL likes to schedule teams to play in countries their star players are from. For example, the games in Prague this season will feature New Jersey's Ondrej Palat, who hails from Frydek-Mistek in Czechia. Meanwhile, the games in Tampere will feature Dallas' Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen and Florida's Aleksander Barkov, the latter of whom will be playing in his hometown.

In these prospective new sites, there would be plenty of players to choose from as representatives, for lack of a better word. Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl and Ottawa's Tim Stutzle would be great choices for Germany, same goes for Nashville's Roman Josi and New Jersey's Nico Hischier for Switzerland. The U.K. doesn't have the same luxury, though, as St. Louis' Nathan Walker, who was born in Wales, being the only active player born in the country.

No matter who ends up playing in these games, it will be exciting for the NHL to break into new territory, at least when it comes to the regular season.

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Published Aug 26, 2024

JON ALFANO