Taylor Hall and the New Jersey Devils will face off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to open the regular season in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Oct. 6 as part of the NHL’s Global Series.
In the second year of regular games in Europe, the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets will also play Nov. 1 and 2 in Helsinki. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced the games and two exhibitions Tuesday morning.
The Devils and Oilers each will complete their training camp in Europe — the Devils in Switzerland, and the Oilers in Germany.
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Swiss No. 1 pick Nico Hischier and the Devils will wrap up training camp and tune up against SC Bern in Switzerland on Oct. 1. Homegrown star Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers will face Kolner Haie in Cologne on Oct. 3, Germany Unity Day.
“I think it will receive a lot of attention,” said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, a Cologne native.
“It’s a pretty sport-fanatic city. They love their soccer and they love their sports teams.
“It’s pretty special for me personally to get to play against [Kölner Haie]. My dad actually coaches the team, so that will be pretty funny to play against them.”
The games at Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena showcase two Finnish stars: Jets winger Patrik Laine and Panthers centre Aleksander Barkov.
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Tickets to all games will be available for purchase next week.
There have been 22 NHL regular-season games played in Europe, including last season when the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche played two games in Stockholm, Sweden.
In addition to the games in Europe, NHL is expected to again play exhibition games in China after going there with the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks last year.