NHL
NHL season openers scheduled for Sweden, Czech Republic
FROM NEWS WIRE SERVICES
Updated: 07/18/08 7:50 AM
The National Hockey League will play in three foreign venues this season. Two will be in Europe, the other inside a baseball stadium.
For the second straight year, the NHL season will open in Europe.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will face Daniel Alfredsson and the Ottawa Senators for a pair of games in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 4-5, while Vincent Lecavalier and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet the New York Rangers in Prague, Czech Republic, the same days.
Ironically, the Rangers-Lightning games were planned with the intention of showcasing former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr in his homeland. The Blueshirts decided not to re-sign Jagr, however, and he signed to play in Russia next season.
Instead, those games will mark the Rangers' debuts of newcomers Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev and Wade Redden.
Last season, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings opened in London.
The Detroit Red Wings will raise their 11th Stanley Cup banner against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 9. The Wings will also be involved in one of the most anticipated games of the season as they travel to Chicago on New Year’s Day to face the Blackhawks in the NHL’s Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.
Montreal will host All-Star Weekend Jan. 24-25 as well as the entry draft June 25-26.
Every team will be in action on Oct.
25. The regular season concludes April 12 and the Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 15.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will get two shots at revenge against the Red Wings on Nov. 11 as the Pens travel to the Motor City to face the champions and at home in the Igloo on Feb. 8.
The Hall of Fame Game is Nov. 8, with the Montreal Canadiens meeting the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Feb. 21 is Hockey Day in Canada as all six Canadian teams square off against each other: Ottawa at Montreal, Vancouver at Toronto and Calgary at Edmonton.
Fired San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson returns with the Maple Leafs, his new team, on Dec. 2.
Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell, the biggest offseason signing, will visit the Sharks on Nov. 26 but not the Buffalo Sabres, where he played from 1999 until last season’s trade deadline.
The new scheduling system has each team playing six games against every team in its own division (24 games), four games against the non-division teams within its conference (40 games), plus 18 nonconference games, including at least one game against each club in the other conference (15 games) and three home-and- home series against nonconference teams.
In other NHL news, free-agent center Marty Reasoner agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Thrashers after playing with Edmonton for six seasons. He had 11 goals and 14 assists with the Oilers last season.
