Bettman said the 23 regular-season games played in Europe since '07 have been a "fantastic success"GETTY IMAGES
The NHL is currently in the planning stages of setting its Europe-based slate of events for next season, which would likely include preseason events in Germany and Switzerland, followed by regular season games in Prague, Czech Republic, and Stockholm, Sweden, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at a press conference Thursday. The league will also hold preseason events in China. The teams, exact cities and dates of those events have yet to be finalized. The Panthers and Jets played Thursday and will play again Friday in Helsinki, Finland, the last NHL games to be held in Europe this season (Ian Thomas, THE DAILY). Bettman said the 23 regular-season games played in Europe since '07 have been a "fantastic success." He added that the tickets for this week's two Panthers-Jets games at the 13,500-seat Hartwall Arena in Helsinki "sold out in less than five minutes." The AP noted the Devils defeated the Oilers in October in Gothenburg, Sweden (AP, 11/1).
HAT IN THE RING: Canucks GM Jim Benning said that the team has had "no talks with the league over playing in Stockholm next year." But in Vancouver, Patrick Johnston notes Benning "didn't seem resistant to the idea." Benning said of the current series in Helsinki, "They picked the Panthers and the Jets because of (Panthers C Aleksander Barkov and Jets RW Patrik Laine), two Finnish players. The league identify and ask the teams if they're interested." The Canucks "boast a young Swedish star" in C Elias Pettersson (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/2).
HOMETOWN HERO: In Winnipeg, Jason Bell writes Laine on Thursday "gave the people what they wanted," as he scored three goals "before an adoring crowd at Helsinki's hockey shrine." When Laine scored into an empty net with 47 seconds left to seal the win, the hats "rained down and the thunderous applause only intensified" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 11/2).
