1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour In 1938, for the first time in NHL history two of the league's teams, the
Detroit Red Wings and the
Montreal Canadiens, went on a tour of Europe with a nine-game series in Britain and France. The Canadiens won the series with a record of 5–3–1.
1959 Boston Bruins–New York Rangers European tour In 1959, the
Boston Bruins and the
New York Rangers (aided by
Bobby Hull,
Ed Litzenberger,
Eric Nesterenko, and
Pierre Pilote of the
Chicago Black Hawks) went on a 23-game tour of Europe, visiting England, Switzerland, France, Belgium, West Germany, and Austria. The Rangers won the series with a record of 11–9–3. The first game in Geneva was attended by a sell-out crowd of 11,000, the attendance for the Zurich games was 4,500 and 2,000. In Berlin, only 600 people went to see the first game.
1975–76 Super Series In late 1975 and early 1976, two
Soviet League teams from Moscow,
Soviet Union (
CSKA, also known as "Red Army", and
Krylya Sovetov, also known as "Soviet Wings") played an eight-game series against several NHL teams (the
Chicago Black Hawks, the
Boston Bruins, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
New York Islanders, the
New York Rangers, the
Philadelphia Flyers, and the
Pittsburgh Penguins). The games took place in the United States and Canada. The Soviet teams won the series with a record of 5–2–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 2–1–1 and Krylya Sovetov had a record of 3–1–0.
1977–78 Czechoslovak NHL tour and Super Series In late 1977 and early 1978, two
Czechoslovak teams (
TJ Poldi SONP Kladno and
Tesla Pardubice) along with one
Soviet team (
Spartak Moscow) went on a 13-game tour of the NHL, playing against several NHL teams (the
Atlanta Flames, the
Chicago Black Hawks, the
Cleveland Barons, the
Colorado Rockies, the
Detroit Red Wings, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
New York Islanders, the
New York Rangers, the
Philadelphia Flyers, the
St. Louis Blues, the
Toronto Maple Leafs, and the
Vancouver Canucks). Games took place in the United States and Canada. Both sides finished the series with 6–6–1 records. Individually, Kladno had a record of 2–1–1, Pardubice had a record of 1–3–0 (combined Czech record of 3–4–1), and Spartak had a record of 3–2–0.
1978–79 Super Series In late 1978 and early 1979, Soviet Union's
Krylya Sovetov from Moscow played a four-game series against NHL teams (the
Boston Bruins, the
Detroit Red Wings, the
Minnesota North Stars, and the
Philadelphia Flyers). Games took place in the United States. Krylya Sovetov won the series with a 2–1–1 record.
1979 Challenge Cup The
1979 Challenge Cup was a series of international
ice hockey games between the
Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of
All-Stars from the
National Hockey League. The games were played on February 8, 10, and 11 at
Madison Square Garden in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the
1978–79 NHL season. The Soviets defeated the NHL All-Stars 2 games to 1.
1979–80 Super Series In late 1979 and early 1980, two
Soviet teams from Moscow,
CSKA and
Dynamo, played a nine-game series against several NHL teams (the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
New York Islanders, the
New York Rangers, the
Quebec Nordiques, the
Vancouver Canucks, the
Washington Capitals, and the original
Winnipeg Jets). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Moscow teams won the series with a record of 5–3–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 3–2–0, and Dynamo had a record of 2–1–1.
1980 DN-Cup In 1980, the
Minnesota North Stars and the
Washington Capitals participated in the
DN-Cup, a round-robin tournament in Sweden sponsored by the newspaper
Dagens Nyheter, with Swedish teams
AIK and
Djurgården from Stockholm. Six games were played in total, five involving the NHL teams (AIK beat Djurgården 1–0 on September 21, attendance: 2,668). Washington won the tournament with a 3–0–0 record, Minnesota finished second with 2–1–0, AIK finished third and Djurgården last.
1981 DN-Cup In 1981, the
New York Rangers and the
Washington Capitals participated in the round-robin
DN-Cup in Sweden with Swedish teams
Västra Frölunda,
AIK, and
Djurgården. The New York won the tournament with a 4–0–0 record, ahead of AIK, Västra Frölunda, Washington (1–3–0) and Djurgården. The list of DN-Cup games excludes three games played without NHL participation. Each NHL team played an additional game in Finland, against
HIFK and
Oulun Kärpät. In total, the NHL teams posted a record of 5–3–0 against the European teams, New York finished 3–1–0, Washington 2–2–0 (excluding the NHL-only game).
DN-Cup Other games 1982–83 Super Series In late 1982 and early 1983, the
Soviet Union national team played a six-game series against several NHL teams (the
Calgary Flames, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
Philadelphia Flyers, and the
Quebec Nordiques). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Soviet Union team won the series with a 4–2–0 record.
1985–86 Super Series In late 1985 and early 1986, two
Soviet teams from Moscow,
CSKA and
Dynamo, played a ten-game series against several NHL teams (the
Boston Bruins, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Calgary Flames, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Los Angeles Kings, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
Pittsburgh Penguins, the
Quebec Nordiques, and the
St. Louis Blues). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Moscow teams won the series with a record of 7–2–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 5–1–0 and Dynamo had a record of 2–1–1.
Rendez-vous '87 '''Rendez-vous '87''' was a series of international
ice hockey games between the
Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of
All-Stars from the
National Hockey League. The games were played on February 11 and 13 at
Le Colisée in
Quebec City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the
1986–87 NHL season. Both teams won one of the two games, with the Soviets winning overall on total score, 8–7.
1988–89 Super Series In late 1988 and early 1989 two
Soviet League teams,
CSKA Moscow and
Dinamo Riga, played a 14-games series against several NHL teams (the
Boston Bruins, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Calgary Flames, the
Chicago Blackhawks, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Hartford Whalers, the
Los Angeles Kings, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
New Jersey Devils, the
New York Islanders, the
Pittsburgh Penguins, the
Quebec Nordiques, the
St. Louis Blues, and the
Vancouver Canucks). Games took place in the United States and Canada. Both sides finished with a record of 6–6–2. Individually, CSKA had a record of 4–2–1 and Dinamo had a record of 2–4–1.
1989 Friendship Tour In 1989, the
Calgary Flames and the
Washington Capitals went on a twelve-game European tour, playing against teams from Sweden (
Färjestad BK and
Brynäs IF) and the
Soviet Union (
CSKA Moscow,
Dynamo Moscow,
Dinamo Riga,
Khimik Voskresensk,
Krylya Sovetov Moscow,
SKA Leningrad,
Sokol Kiev, and
Spartak Moscow). The Flames preceded these games with a two-game series in
Czechoslovakia against the
Czechoslovakia national team, losing both. The NHL teams won the series with a record of 7–5–0 (0–2–0 against Czechoslovakia, 1–1–0 against the Swedish teams, and 6–2–0 against Soviet teams). Individually, Calgary had a record of 3–3–0 and Washington had a record of 4–2–0.
1989–90 Super Series In late 1989 and early 1990 a record four
Soviet teams (
CSKA Moscow,
Dynamo Moscow,
Khimik Voskresensk, and
Krylya Sovetov Moscow went on a 21-game tour of North America, playing against every NHL team (the
Boston Bruins, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Calgary Flames, the
Chicago Blackhawks, the
Detroit Red Wings, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Hartford Whalers, the
Los Angeles Kings, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
New Jersey Devils, the
New York Islanders, the
New York Rangers, the
Philadelphia Flyers, the
Pittsburgh Penguins, the
Quebec Nordiques, the
St. Louis Blues, the
Toronto Maple Leafs, the
Vancouver Canucks, the
Washington Capitals, and the original
Winnipeg Jets). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Soviet teams won the series with a record of 11–9–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 4–1–0, Dynamo had a record of 3–2–0, Khimik had a record of 3–3–0, and Krylya Sovetov had a record of 1–3–1.
1990 Edmonton Oilers–St. Louis Blues European tournament In 1990, the
Edmonton Oilers and the
St. Louis Blues participated in the
Epson Cup played in Düsseldorf with hosts
Düsseldorfer EG. The Oilers then played two more games against
EC Graz of Austria, and
EC Hedos Munich of Germany. The NHL teams posted a record of 4–0–0, excluding the NHL-only game.
1990 Friendship Tour In 1990, the
Minnesota North Stars and the
Montreal Canadiens went on a nine-game tour of Europe, dubbed the '''Friendship Tour '90''', with a game in Sweden against
AIK, and the rest in the
Soviet Union against
CSKA Moscow,
Dynamo Moscow,
Khimik Voskresensk,
Krylya Sovetov Moscow, a
SKA Leningrad/
Torpedo Yaroslavl joint squad,
Sokol Kiev,
Spartak Moscow, and
Latvian (the country
declared its independence from the
Soviet Union on 4 May) team
Dinamo Riga. The European teams won the series with a record of 5–4–0. Individually, the Canadiens had a record of 3–2–0 and the North Stars had a record of 1–3–0. For the game in Sweden, the NHL had required the Canadiens to wear generic orange jerseys with the NHL shield, but backed off when the organisation was uncooperative.
1990–91 Super Series In late 1990 and early 1991 three
Soviet teams (
CSKA Moscow,
Dynamo Moscow,
Khimik Voskresensk) went on a 21-game tour of North America, playing against every NHL team (the
Boston Bruins, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Calgary Flames, the
Chicago Blackhawks, the
Detroit Red Wings, the
Edmonton Oilers, the
Hartford Whalers, the
Los Angeles Kings, the
Minnesota North Stars, the
Montreal Canadiens, the
New Jersey Devils, the
New York Islanders, the
New York Rangers, the
Philadelphia Flyers, the
Pittsburgh Penguins, the
Quebec Nordiques, the
St. Louis Blues, the
Toronto Maple Leafs, the
Vancouver Canucks, the
Washington Capitals, and the original
Winnipeg Jets). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Soviet teams won the series with a record of 12–6–3. Individually, CSKA had a record of 6–1–0, Dynamo had a record of 3–2–2, and Khimik had a record of 3–3–1.
1992 Chicago Blackhawks–Montreal Canadiens English games In 1992, the
Chicago Blackhawks and the
Montreal Canadiens played a two-game series in England. Each team won one game.
1993 New York Rangers–Toronto Maple Leafs English games In 1993, the
New York Rangers and the
Toronto Maple Leafs played a two-game series in England. The Rangers won both games.
1994 NHL International Challenge in Finland, with the Winnipeg Jets In 1994, the original
Winnipeg Jets played in a four-team compressed tournament with
HIFK Helsinki, Helsinki
Jokerit, and
Tappara Tampere in Finland. The Jets won their first game against Tappara, and then HIFK in the final. The tournament had been set up for a final game between Teemu Selänne's old team (Jokerit) and current team (the Jets).
Ninety Nine All Stars Tour During the
1994–95 NHL lockout,
Wayne Gretzky formed a team called the
Ninety Nine All Stars to play a tour of exhibition games across Europe against various European club teams, in order to stay in game shape and raise money for charity.
1998 Buffalo Sabres–Tampa Bay Lightning Austrian tournament In 1998, the
Buffalo Sabres and the
Tampa Bay Lightning played in a three-game tournament in Austria against the Austrian teams
KAC Klagenfurt and
VEU Feldkirch. The NHL teams won the tournament with a record of 2–0–0, excluding the NHL-only game.
2000 NHL Challenge In 2000, the
Vancouver Canucks played a two-game series in Sweden against the Swedish teams
Djurgården Stockholm and
MoDo Örnsköldsvik. The Canucks won both games.
2001 NHL Challenge In 2001, the
Colorado Avalanche played a single game in Sweden against the Swedish team
Brynäs IF. The Avalanche won. Two more games were scheduled (against
Djurgarden and
Jokerit), but the tour was cut short due to the
September 11 attacks.
2003 NHL Challenge In 2003, the
Toronto Maple Leafs played a three-game series in Finland and Sweden against the Finnish team
Jokerit Helsinki and the Swedish teams
Djurgården Stockholm and
Färjestad Karlstad. The Maple Leafs won all games.
2004–05 season NHL Worldstars During the
2004–2005 NHL labour dispute, the
NHL Worldstars team played.
2007 NHL Premiere In 2007, the NHL opened its regular season in Europe for the first time. The
Anaheim Ducks and the
Los Angeles Kings played a two-game series in England that counted towards the
2007–08 regular season. Each team won one game. Prior to this, the Kings played a two-game series in Austria against the Austrian team
Red Bull Salzburg and the Swedish team
Färjestad Karlstad, winning both.
2008 NHL Premiere In 2008, four teams from the NHL (the
New York Rangers, the
Ottawa Senators, the
Pittsburgh Penguins, and the
Tampa Bay Lightning) opened their
2008–09 regular seasons in Europe. The Rangers and the Lightning played a two-game series in the
Czech Republic, with the Rangers winning both games. The Senators and the Penguins played a two-game series in Sweden, with each team winning one game. Prior to this, the Rangers played in the inaugural
Victoria Cup against
Metallurg Magnitogorsk from Russia. All four teams also played against various European teams (
Eisbären Berlin from Germany,
SC Bern from Switzerland,
Slovan Bratislava from
Slovakia,
Jokerit Helsinki from Finland, and
Frölunda Gothenburg from Sweden). The NHL teams won all games.
2009 NHL Premiere In 2009, four teams from the NHL (the
Chicago Blackhawks, the
Detroit Red Wings, the
Florida Panthers, and the
St. Louis Blues) opened their
2009–10 regular seasons in Europe. The Blackhawks and the Panthers played a two-game series in Finland, with each team winning once. The Red Wings and the Blues played a two-game series in Sweden, with the Blues winning both games. Prior to this, the Blackhawks played in the second annual
Victoria Cup against
ZSC Lions from Switzerland. All four teams also played against various European teams (
Jokerit Helsinki and
Tappara Tampere from Finland,
HC Davos from Switzerland, and
Färjestad BK and
Linköpings HC from Sweden). The NHL teams had a record of 4–2–0 against the European teams.
2010 NHL Premiere In 2010, a record six NHL teams (the
Boston Bruins, the
Carolina Hurricanes, the
Columbus Blue Jackets, the
Minnesota Wild, the
Phoenix Coyotes, and the
San Jose Sharks) opened their
2010–11 regular seasons in Europe. The Hurricanes and the Wild played a two-game series in Finland, with the Hurricanes winning both games. The Blue Jackets and the Sharks played a two-game series in Sweden, with each team winning one game. The Bruins and the Coyotes played a two-game series in the
Czech Republic, with each team winning one game. Prior to this, all six teams also played against various European teams (
Adler Mannheim from Germany,
Belfast Giants Selects from
Northern Ireland (an all-star team of the
EIHL),
SKA Saint Petersburg from Russia,
Ilves Tampere from Finland,
HC Bílí Tygři Liberec from the Czech Republic,
Malmö Redhawks from Sweden, and
Dinamo Riga from
Latvia). The NHL teams had a record of 6–1–0 against the European teams.
2011 NHL Premiere In 2011, four teams from the NHL (the
Anaheim Ducks, the
Buffalo Sabres, the
Los Angeles Kings, and the
New York Rangers) opened their regular seasons in Europe, marking the fifth straight season of the NHL Premiere games. On October 7, the Ducks and the Sabres played a game in Finland, while the Kings and the Rangers played a game in Sweden. The next day, the Ducks and the Rangers played a game in Sweden, while the Sabres and the Kings played a game in Germany. These teams also played exhibition games against
HC Sparta Prague from the
Czech Republic,
Frölunda HC from Sweden,
Slovan Bratislava from
Slovakia,
EV Zug from Switzerland,
Jokerit Helsinki from Finland and
Adler Mannheim and
Hamburg Freezers from Germany as part of their preseason schedule. The New York Rangers, playing four games in five days in four countries, had a record of 3–1–0 against the European teams. The NHL teams had an overall record of 6–1–0 against the European teams.
2017 NHL Global Series On March 24, 2017, the NHL announced the return of regular season games played outside North America in a new event called the NHL Global Series. The
Colorado Avalanche and
Ottawa Senators played two regular season games at the
Ericsson Globe in
Stockholm,
Sweden on November 10 and 11, 2017 five days after the trade for
Matt Duchene. Unlike the previous regular-season series played in Europe by the NHL, these games were played a month into the regular season rather than the start of it.
2018 NHL Global Series On March 26, 2018, the NHL announced the 2018 slate of NHL Global Series games. The
New Jersey Devils and
Edmonton Oilers played their regular season opening game in Sweden on October 6, preceded by two exhibition games against European teams. The
Florida Panthers and
Winnipeg Jets then played two regular season games in Finland on November 1 and 2.
2019 NHL Global Series On March 21, 2019, the NHL announced the 2019 lineup of hockey games in Europe. The
Chicago Blackhawks and
Philadelphia Flyers played their regular season opening game in Prague on October 4, preceded by two exhibition games against European teams. The Blackhawks played
Eisbären Berlin on September 29 in
Berlin and the Flyers played
Lausanne HC in
Lausanne on September 30. The
Buffalo Sabres and
Tampa Bay Lightning then played two regular season games in Sweden on November 8 and 9.
2022 NHL Global Series in
Tampere, after the first match of 2022 NHL Global Series between Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets After a two-year hiatus because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Series returned for the autumn of 2022. The slate of games was revealed on April 22. The
Nashville Predators and
San Jose Sharks began the 2022–23 season with two games in Prague. Both teams had preseason games against
SC Bern and Eisbären Berlin. The
Columbus Blue Jackets and
Colorado Avalanche had games in Tampere.
2024 NHL Global Series On March 12, 2024, the NHL announced that the
Buffalo Sabres,
New Jersey Devils,
Florida Panthers, and
Dallas Stars would contest four regular season games in Europe, with the Sabres and Devils opening the season on October 4–5 at
O2 Arena in
Prague, Czech Republic and the Panthers and Stars playing at
Nokia Arena in
Tampere, Finland on November 1–2 as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series. In addition, the Sabres played a preseason game on September 27 in
Munich, Germany against
EHC Red Bull München at their new arena,
SAP Garden.
2025 NHL Global Series Sweden On March 18, 2025, the NHL announced that the
Nashville Predators and
Pittsburgh Penguins have been scheduled to play against each other on November 14 and 16, 2025, at
Avicii Arena in
Stockholm, Sweden.
2026 NHL Global Series On March 13, 2026, the NHL announced that the
Ottawa Senators and
Chicago Blackhawks have been scheduled to play against each other on December 18 and 20, 2026, at
PSD Bank Dome in
Düsseldorf, Germany. On March 23, 2026, the NHL announced the
Carolina Hurricanes and
Seattle Kraken have been scheduled to play against each other on November 12 and 14, 2026 at
Veikkaus Arena in
Helsinki, Finland. ==Japan==