Predators, Penguins to play games in Sweden next season - ESPN

Hockey fans in Sweden have watched superstars such as Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos for decades on television, but never in person.

That'll change next season with the NHL announcing Tuesday that the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will play a pair of regular-season games next season as part of the Global Series at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

Crosby and the Penguins will play Stamkos and the Predators on Nov. 14 and Nov. 16. This will be the Penguins' first trip to Europe in 17 years. Although this will be the Preds first venture to Sweden, it'll be the third time in franchise history they've played outside North America.

«Something we've heard a lot of — and it's why we're bringing the Penguins — is fans want to see Crosby, they want to see (Connor) McDavid,» said David Proper, the senior executive vice president for media and international strategy for the NHL. «We're so busy making sure they get to see (Filip) Forsberg, (Victor) Hedman and (Erik) Karlsson and all the great Swedes. But it was interesting to hear them say they'd like to see some of the top, top players in the world that aren't Swedes.»

Proper said the league's focus since the Global Series started in 2017 was to have fans from a particular nation experience the NHL while seeing their fellow compatriots. That will remain a focal point with the Penguins and Predators combining to have six Swedes between them. It's a group that includes three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and Forsberg, who is Sweden's seventh all-time leading goal NHL scorer.

It's just that the input the NHL received means fans will get to see those players who've also helped shape the game over the last 20 years such as Roman Josi, Kris Letang,