As the NHL has grown as a business, the league has slowly, steadily been improving its global footprint with regular-season games in Europe. And at the NHL’s European Media Tour continued this week, league deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it’s only a matter of time before the league expands its market overseas – and he specifically mentioned two countries that would be hosting regular-season action.
“I would put Germany on that list for sure,” Daly told NHL.com. “Switzerland potentially on that list, too. There are places we want to hit, and will hit, moving forward.”
To be sure, it’s a good thing that hockey’s top league is continuing to expand their product beyond North America. From both financial and good-of-the-game perspectives, an NHL that extends its influence can only be a positive.
In addition to the NHL's participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics, Daly also discussed the progress of the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, specifically regarding the staging of the World Cup games. And Daly indicated the league has been inundated with proposals from Europe and North America to do just that.
"We're well along in the first stage of identifying potential host cities both in North America and Europe,” Daly said. “The interest level was very, very high. We hope to complete that process and be in a position to make announcements on markets and venues hopefully before the end of the regular season, if not before. It's a good process so far."
That sounds like the NHL is raring to pounce when it comes to staging games in Europe. And if the league is really creative, they’d do what some have mentioned and stage an outdoor game in a place like Switzerland. Imagine the possibilities. The picturesque mountains, the snow-capped backgrounds – the visual product would be unlike anything the league has seen.
But even if we’re talking about games in arenas with roofs, the NHL still benefits greatly by investing in European games. It means something for German fans to see native son and Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl play at home. It means something for Swiss fans to see native son and Nashville Predators star defenseman Roman Josi play at home. The marketing possibilities are many.
As far as this writer is concerned, the more global the NHL product, the better. There are millions of potential NHL fans out there on a different continent, just waiting to be engaged with,
The league’s deep connections to Europe should be capitalized on. And after Daly’s comments, it definitely seems like we’ll soon be seeing more NHL action across the Atlantic Ocean.
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