Edmonton Oilers named leading candidate for upcoming overseas game
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Following this week's NHL Board of Governors meetings, speculation has surfaced that the Edmonton Oilers will play in Europe during the 2026-27 NHL season.
One of the items discussed at the meetings was the league's mandate to grow the NHL-game outside of North America.
NHL hopes to expand to Germany
On Monday's edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported that one of the NHL's desired expansion countries is Germany.
With Leon Draisaitl being German, the Oilers would the likely be team to represent the league.
Of course, nothing is as yet set in stone, and news of the Oilers playing in Germany next year largely speculative.
David Pangotta of The Fourth Period had this to say about Edmonton, or other NHL teams playing in Germany next season:
«Sounds like we may see the 2026 NHL Global Series go to Germany. There still seems to be some work on that front, but there's a lot of chatter surrounding regular-season games somewhere in Germany next season.»
Edmonton has many stars that German hockey fans would love to watch play in live action, including the best player in the world, Connor McDavid.
Yet, there are other German-born players that could represent the NHL with their respective clubs. As Friedman reported, German business Hanso Plattner is the majority owner of the Sharks.
We could possibly see a Shark versus Oilers game if Germany were chosen for the Global Series expansion.
The NHL's plan to grow in Europe is the main factor in the new 84-game schedule beginning in 2026-27, to compensate for lost revenue resulting from the cost of playing overseas.
All in all, however, hockey fans across the globe benefit with the exposure to watching games in the best league in the world.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 15 | 699 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers named leading candidate for upcoming overseas game Do you agree with the new 84-game schedule in the NHL? | ||
| yes | 424 | 60.7 % |
| no | 275 | 39.3 % |
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