The Global Series took place last weekend between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s an event that’s becoming an annual occurrence in Europe. The big news this season, at least from an overseas perspective, is that the NHL opened offices in Zurich, Switzerland.
That had everyone’s antennas (or spidey senses) going. When the NHL does something like that, there’s usually something that follows. Offices in Europe could hint towards more NHL games there, or the league is trying to bridge the gap with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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There’s also the possibility that the NHL will expand into Europe someday. 32 teams aren’t enough (apparently), and it’s only a matter of time before two more cities get teams. There might be more to come, and Europe could be on their list. It sounds crazy or far-fetched to think of a team in Europe. However, there is precedent for expansion, and the league can follow it if it wants to take on such a big endeavour.
The Historic Template to Follow
Expansion and the NHL go hand in hand since the founding days of hockey. Everyone thinks of the Original Six era but it goes back further, when the league wanted to add teams from Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and New York (compared to just the Canadian contingent).
The first big expansion happened in 1967. It’s when the league went from six teams to 12 but more importantly, added teams on the West Coast. That was their big risk since travel back then wasn’t as easy as it is now. For years, teams could travel by bus or train, and suddenly, they were asked to fly across the continent.
The reason it worked out at first is that the league structured the schedule around the Western teams. It’s something all the major sports did once they put teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The other teams would fly in for a week or more and play a few games in both cities before heading back. Then those teams would do their road trips during the season as well. The NHL didn’t just move one team out west; they had two to start, and expanded to a division shortly thereafter to ease the travel.
If the NHL expanded to Europe, it would follow a similar template. There would be at least two and possibly four teams on the continent that would play each other more than typical divisional matchups. More importantly, the North American teams would spend a week or more playing all the teams there. The template to follow is there but of course, the NHL would have it’s doubts.
The Europe Issues Remain
Europe seems like the next frontier for the NHL. The NFL has already established itself on the continent with multiple games there every season. They are taking things further with games in South America and Australia (which is slated for next season). The NFL only plays one game a week, so it’s easier but MLB is also playing internationally, with early-season games in Japan or South Korea.
Travel is still difficult. It’s not just the players but also the equipment and entire team flying to Europe, going through customs, and setting up shop for a week. Likewise, a team in Europe, especially a bad one, would set the league back or create a mess they wouldn’t want to deal with. If veteran players find out they were selected in an expansion draft by a team in Finland or Sweden, they might retire instead.
The other issue is the money. The NHL’s biggest priorities with expansion are finding owners and cities willing to spend on a team. There are plenty of ownership groups in Europe willing to have a team but it’s hard to say whether the cities want to spend public money on a team (which, as their professional sports teams have shown, can become complicated).
The NHL in Europe is a big dream-type project. It’s why it probably won’t happen for at least a decade, if not longer. Instead, the NHL’s expansion into Europe will probably take a different path.
What The NHL Can Do In The Meantime
The NHL, for now, has the Global Series. There’s never an ideal time to have it, yet it’s not something that’s going away anytime soon. If anything, the league will probably copy the NFL, where there are more games in different markets every season.
The other avenue for the NHL is to use the teams in Finland, Sweden, and the like as extensions of their farm system. Every team can have a team or two in each of those leagues, and it will allow them to have a more effective farm system. For example, a top Swedish prospect is drafted by an NHL team, and instead of bringing him to North America right away to develop, they can bring them to their Swedish team to learn the systems and play alongside other prospects from that team.
There is a historic president for that as well. The St. Louis Cardinals in baseball became a juggernaut because of their pipeline since Branch Rickey bought out farm teams across America, giving him an eye on prospects everywhere. The Montreal Canadiens had a similar monopoly over the province of Quebec back in the day. It’s possible we see an NHL team buy out and control teams overseas, yet a better approach for the NHL is to have every team with a development team in each European league.
The NHL has historically been at odds with international hockey. However, Gary Bettman wants to bridge that gap. The offices in Switzerland are a start, and there might be more to come.
