Jets, NHL talking about Global Series games in Finland

By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 2:08 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018

The Winnipeg Jets are in talks with the National Hockey League about playing a pair of regular-season games in Finland next year as part of the league's ongoing Global Series.

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The Winnipeg Jets are in talks with the National Hockey League about playing a pair of regular-season games in Finland next year as part of the league's ongoing Global Series.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/01/2018 (2808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are in talks with the National Hockey League about playing a pair of regular-season games in Finland next year as part of the league’s ongoing Global Series.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the possibility in his weekly “31 Thoughts” column Wednesday. Members of the Jets confirmed the potential following practice Thursday.

“I heard about that. It sounds really good. It’s always nice to go home and it would be nice to play in front of the Finnish crowd,” Finnish sniper Patrik Laine said. He would no doubt be the star attraction, along with teammate and countryman Joel Armia.

'It would be nice to play in front of the Finnish crowd:' Finnish sniper Patrik Laine said (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

“Hopefully that would happen. I would be super excited,” said Laine.

According to Friedman, the most likely opponent for the Jets would be the Carolina Hurricanes. They have a pair of high-flying Finns as well, in Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Each team would play one of their home games, and one of their road games.

“I don’t have any information for you. I’m good with it if we do,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s an exciting part of what the NHL is trying to do. We’ll see if we’re the team going.”

Officially, the club had no comment on the possibility. Friedman reported Wednesday there are “no guarantees at this time.”

It’s no secret the NHL wants to expand its footprint beyond North America. Ottawa and Colorado played a pair of regular-season games earlier this year in Sweden and Vancouver and Los Angeles played two pre-season games in China.

There have been a total of 22 NHL games played in Europe over the past couple decades. For what it’s worth, last year’s announcement of the Ottawa and Colorado games was made in March 2017, meaning official word from the league on next year’s plans may still be a couple months away.

“I guess if they announce it, we’ll talk about it then,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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Mike McIntyre
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