List of international games played by NHL teams

[1] That first game played on April 21, 1938 was the first one organized by any major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, to take place outside North America.

While most NHL international games have been exhibition or preseason contests, the first ones to count towards the league's regular seasons standings were held in October 3–4, 1997, when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Vancouver Canucks played a two-game series in Japan to open the 1997–98 regular season.

In the tables below: 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 England and France.

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[2]) went on a 23-game tour of Europe, visiting England, Switzerland, France, Belgium, West Germany, and Austria.

In late 1977 and early 1978, two Czechoslovakian 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).

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).

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).

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[28]).

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.

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).

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).

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).

[50] 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).

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.

In 2000, the Vancouver Canucks played a two-game series in Sweden against the Swedish teams Djurgården Stockholm and MoDo Örnsköldsvik.

In 2001, the Colorado Avalanche played a single game in Sweden against the Swedish team Brynäs Gävle.

The Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings played a two-game series in England that counted towards the 2007–08 regular season.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[65] 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.

The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning then played two regular season games in Sweden on November 8 and 9.

[70] On April 26, 2023, the NHL announced that the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs would contest four regular season games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on four consecutive days, November 16–19, 2023, as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden.

[71] 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.

In 1997, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Vancouver Canucks played a two-game series in Japan to open the 1997–98 regular season.

This marked the first time that games played by NHL teams outside of North America counted in the league standings.

On May 2, 2018, the NHL announced that the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames would play two exhibition games in China for the second consecutive year.