MANALAPAN, Fla. (AP) — The Country Music Association Awards ceremony kicks the Nashville Predators out of their arena for a long stretch every November. This year, they'll use that absence to travel to Sweden.
The NHL announced Tuesday the Predators are facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in regular-season games in Stockholm on Nov. 14 and 16 as part of the league's Global Series.
“I think it’ll be a good event for us,” Predators general manager Barry Trotz told The Associated Press. “We’re either going on a long trip out West or we can go to Europe.”
The games at newly renovated Avicii Arena are set to be the 47th and 48th games the league has held in Sweden and make it the 15th season with regular-season action outside North America.
The visit is perhaps one last chance for aging Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson to play in Scandinavia. The Predators have a prominent Swede in top-line winger Filip Forsberg, with starting goaltender Juuse Saros hailing from neighboring Finland.
“It's going to be really fitting for us,” Trotz said after a session at the NHL GMs meeting in South Florida. “Not only we have some Swedish players — a guy like a Filip and a couple others that are really proud that they will go back and showcase their country, and I think Filip’s going to try to showcase his hometown. I think for our players, there’s not a better learning environment than travel and going to another country to learn more about the culture and understanding of that.”
The Penguins have not played in Europe since 2008, fresh off winning the third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. They have since won it twice more, in 2016 and '17.
For Trotz, it will be a return overseas a quarter-century after he coached Nashville against Pittsburgh for two-season opening games in Saitama, Japan, in 2000. He wants his players to look forward to and enjoy the trip while also appreciating they will be meaningful games.
“You’ll have the excitement of the start of the season and then you get into November and it starts to get into a little bit of the grind,” Trotz said. “It might be a really good thing for us just to focus on that. But we’ve got to focus on it’s not a vacation.”
The NHL is returning to Sweden for the first time since 2023 after staging games in Finland and Czechia this season. Stockholm has hosted more NHL games than any other European city.
Predators CEO Sean Henry said being selected to participate in a marquee event like this is a testament to the organization’s support at home and abroad.
“This event will be particularly special for Filip Forsberg, who adores his home country, and the other Sweden natives on our team and in our organization,” Henry said in a statement. “We had such an incredible time with our fans at the 2022 Global Series in Bern and Prague, and we can’t wait for them to bring even more energy and enthusiasm in November.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
