NHL headed to play in new country for global series this year
With the rapid expansion of most sports, the NHL is trying its hardest to keep up with the other major leagues. Gary Bettman's idea has been to do games globally, which has gained a decent amount of traction. The last international games were played by the Leafs, Sens and Wild in Sweden in November, and those were very successful. Now the NHL announced its next two global series games, which have three familiar locations for international hockey.
Next year will be the biggest year yet for international play as the Sabres will visit Munich, Germany to play an exhibition game. Germany has been growing as a hockey nation due to the success of guys like Draisaitl and Stutzle, so hopefully these games will encourage more hockey in Germany.
The NHL then starts its new tradition of kicking the season off with two global games, having the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils play two games Prague. Later in November there's also two games in Tampere between the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. Finland and the Czech Republic have always been big hockey nations, and have a huge fan base of people who go out to these games every year.
These global games are very good promotional games for the NHL, and help the game grow in nations that don't have teams. It's good that the NHL keeps up its tradition of playing in other nations, and it may be a chance for them to scout putting teams in other countries.
| POLL | ||
Would you be opposed if the league added a team from a different country? | ||
| Yes, it will be good for the game | 108 | 26.9 % |
| Only if it's close like Mexico | 49 | 12.2 % |
| No, keep it in North America | 244 | 60.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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