In the top North American sports leagues, it is nothing new for playing a regular-season game around the world.
Like the NFL going to London England for a game the MLB going to Japan and the NBA playing in United Arab Emirates. But in the NHL they keep going back to the same traditional places.
With the success of the NHL’s 4 Nations faced off and the NHL players returning to the Olympics it has a chance to capitalize to grow the game to another level.
Next year the NHL season will expand its 82 games to 84, with these games they must use them to grow the game in different parts of the world.
Germany has been a rising hockey power after taking silver in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea and with German star player Leon Draisaitl dominating the league with the Edmonton Oilers.
The NHL has been sending exhibition games and preseason games to Europe, but if NHL want to grow the game and show the skill of the players they have to be regular season because the show the level and intensity of the sport.
With the NHL Global Series it has played games in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, and Czechia.
The NHL as committed to send it’s players to the 2030 Winter Olympic, it’s must use the Global Series to send games to France, because it will show the country that which players will be coming and to grow the game there. Perhaps have the Montreal Canadiens vs the Ottawa Senators in Paris, France.
The league has sent some games to non-traditional hockey countries like Japan, China, in 2023 Australia to spark interest of the National Hockey League.
If the NHL wants to grow it must do more to show the game of hockey in Latin America.
In 2006 the league played exhibition game at Coliseo de Puerto Rico between the Florida Panthers vs New York Rangers in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
During an interview at the 2023 Global Series in Sweden, Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was asked If you wanted to play in the global Series where would you want to be play at. Matthews said ” Yeah, maybe like Mexico City, be fun go home for a bit”.
Mathews is one of the best Mexican-American players to have ever played in the NHL.
The NHL has made strides by growing the game in Latin countries by showing hockey games in spanish on ESPN Deportes but if it wants to make an impact it must play the games there.
Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings have shown interest in playing in Mexico.
The NHL is the last top tier North American Sports League to not have played in Mexico.
This should be the top place where the NHL must go in order to grow the game no matter what.
Travel will not be an issue but the biggest question is which Arena can host an NHL game.
I see it as a great opportunity to not only play a game in Mexico but play it outside.
