Although NHL games happening overseas are certainly more commonplace nowadays - or at least it seems like it - they’re not exactly a new phenomenon. Did you know the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings went on a postseason exhibition tour in Europe in 1938? Paris and London were among their destinations.
Since then, the NHL has been… well, a lot of places.
From England to Switzerland; France to Belgium; Germany to Austria; Japan, Sweden, the Czech Republic, U.S.S.R., Finland, Russia, Latvia and even Northern Ireland - the NHL’s been around. The Bruins and Rangers even went on a 23-game European tour in April and May of 1959 that took them to six different countries.