The NHL is going overseas again. The league announced the 2022 NHL Global Series games, which will feature the Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets playing in European cities during the regular season.
Two of those games will open the NHL season. The Sharks and Predators will do battle in a pair of games in Prague, Czechia at O2 Arena on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. Those games follow exhibition matches for both clubs, with the Sharks taking on Eisbaren Berlin in Germany on Oct. 4 and the Predators battling SC Bern in Switzerland on Oct. 3.
Then, a month later, the Avalanche and Blue Jackets will meet in Tampere, Finland for a pair of games on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5.
Columbus and Colorado are obvious candidates for games in Finland, since they have some of the biggest current stars the country has produced. Patrik Laine and Mikko Rantanen will be the headliners, though others like Artturi Lehkonen and even general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will certainly draw some attention as well. Laine and Kekalainen are even from Tampere specifically, meaning this is a homecoming of sorts for the Blue Jackets.
It’s no different for the Czech games, where Tomas Hertl of the Sharks will be the big draw. Hertl just signed a massive extension with the Sharks that makes him the team’s highest-paid forward and will lead his club into his hometown a decade after he left for the NHL. Teammate Radim Simek is also from the Czech Republic, as is Nashville goaltender David Rittich, though the latter is not yet signed for next season.
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