This year marks the sixth entry of the NHL Global Series. The league’s international exploits began in 2017 when the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche played two regular season games in Sweden. Since then, several teams have played preseason games against local teams and staged regular season games in countries like Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia to sold out crowds.
This year, the Buffalo Sabres will take on EHC Red Bull München in a preseason game before facing the New Jersey Devils in Czechia. In November, the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers will face off in Finland to complete the series. All are big sporting markets – especially when it comes to hockey – and Sweden and Finland have a grand history of pumping world-class talents into the NHL. So, should more teams, like the Calgary Flames, make the trip?
Bringing the NHL to more fans
Naturally, the NHL’s biggest fan bases are in North America. Around 22% of Canadians claim hockey is their favourite sport, not to mention the many who rank it second or third. Of course, not all hockey fans are devout NHL fans, and many gravitate toward local leagues, junior leagues, and women’s hockey. Across the US and Canada, Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals was viewed by 16.3 million people, highlighting the league’s massive appeal.
Overseas, the NHL struggles with many of the same issues as other North American major leagues looking to reach new audiences, with the main sticking point being time zones. The NFL, NBA, and MLB have all tried to break into the UK market with London games, but only the NFL has an ongoing viewing audience because its Sunday slate of games kickoff at a time that’s viable in the UK – usually 6 pm local time. The NHL has a similar problem in the UK and Europe, where the time difference is even more difficult to overcome.
While there’s usually a fairly hefty stack of games on a Saturday and Sunday in the NHL, only one or two East Coast games will be on at a viable viewing time for European fans. It’s still a six-hour time difference between Eastern Time and Central European Time. The league has noticed this, and reports suggest that early puck drops in North America will increase following an increase in viewership of up to 827% in Europe last season.
Should the Flames venture to Europe next?
It’s been quite some time since the Calgary Flames last played overseas, either in a regular season or exhibition game. The Flames and the Boston Bruins played a two-game series in China in 2018, marking the end of the two-year foray into the country. Yet, the Flames are one of the most iconic teams in the NHL, a Stanley Cup winner, and have previously taken part in international series in Japan, Czechoslovakia, and the former USSR.
Participating in the NHL Global Series may even help to buoy the team and bring in new fans just as the Flames begin to climb back up the standings. As noted by Canadian online gambling platforms, the Flames are at long odds to make it to the playoffs and aren’t expected to win too many games this season. In fact, some preseason power rankings only put Calgary above the San Jose Sharks.
Going to Europe to play against other professional teams would be a valuable experience for the young skaters earmarked as being the future core of the Flames. The level of competition, in theory, would at least be closer to where the Flames currently stand than most others in the NHL – especially if this season sees more selling by the Flames to further propel the rebuild.
The Flames wouldn’t be able to put on the very best showing available in the NHL next season, but if that was the point of the international games, the Sabres wouldn’t be playing two series this season. So, if the opportunity arises, Calgary should take the trip to Europe, give its young players a valuable experience, and perhaps even gain some new fans beyond North America.
