On Thursday, the NHL announced a partnership with the league that had never been seen before, one with immediate ties to the Detroit Red Wings.
The league, unveiled at FC Bayern’s Säbener Straße training facility, includes creating a platform for cross-sport collaboration, community engagement, youth outreach and original content development as part of a multiyear agreement designed to accelerate the growth of hockey in Germany and the development of FC Bayern in North America.
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The announcement was accompanied by a press conference featuring German NHL stars Leon Draisaitl and JJ Peterka, but notably not Red Wings star Moritz Seider, another prominent German player who captained his country at the recent IIHF World Championships.
Although he wasn’t in attendance, the hope is that the partnership brings more German fans into the sport, even if Seider might have preferred a partnership tied closer to his own hometown club FC Zell rather than Bayern.
The two NHLers who did appear were likely there in connection with a related announcement as the Global Series will take place in Cologne and Munich during the 2027-28 season, with the Edmonton Oilers set to play two regular-season games in Draisaitl’s hometown of Cologne, while the Boston Bruins and Peterka head to Munich for a two-game set of their own.
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The 2026 Global Series will already head to Germany in December, with the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators playing two games in Düsseldorf, the first NHL games in the country since 2011.
Rounding out the press conference was FC Bayern and Canadian international Alphonso Davies, who grew up playing hockey in the Edmonton area and cheers for the Oilers. Davies has experienced the passion Canada has for hockey during his years around Edmonton and has seen the excitement soccer brings to Germany, and he expressed excitement about linking back up with Draisaitl through the new partnership.
Not much else is known about the scope of the NHL’s relationship with Bayern beyond what’s already been announced, but with the league taking an increasingly aggressive approach to growing the game in Germany, it’s not out of the question that Seider could see his brand continue to grow and could even see him eventually play a Global Series game closer to his own hometown of Zell down the line.
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The Red Wings have only played in Europe once in recent memory, back in November 2023, when Detroit faced its rival Toronto Maple Leafs in Stockholm, a game that doubled as a homecoming for Swedish-born Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond.
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