NHL Global Series Heads to Finland with Hurricanes and Kraken

The NHL has announced a second set of ‘Global Series’ international regular season fixtures for the 2026-27 campaign, with the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken set to play a pair of games in Finland. This marks a return to Europe for the league’s international program, building on previous successful events.

Games to be Played in Helsinki

The Hurricanes and Kraken will face off on November 12 and 14 at the Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The arena, with a capacity of 13,349, is home to Helsingin Jokerit, a second-tier domestic ice hockey team. Veikkaus Arena has a strong history of hosting ice hockey events, including 11 previous NHL games – regular season and pre-season challenges – making this the 12th and 13th NHL contests to be held at the venue.

NHL’s Return to Finland

This will be the NHL’s first return to Finland since November 2024, when the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars played two regular-season games at Tampere’s Nokia Arena. Finland is a key international market for the NHL, boasting a strong hockey culture and a significant number of Finnish players in the league.

Finnish Player Representation

Currently, nearly 50 active Finnish players are in the NHL, including stars like Mikko Rantanen and Patrick Laine. Both the Hurricanes and Kraken have Finnish representation on their rosters. The Kraken feature forwards Kaapo Kakko, Eeli Tolvanen and Jani Nyman, while the Hurricanes currently roster Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, with numerous other Finnish prospects in their developmental systems.

NHL’s European Expansion

The NHL continues to expand its presence in Europe. In late 2025, the league opened an office in Switzerland to further its footprint across the continent. The NHL too operates the NHL Street Hockey school-based initiative in several European countries, including Germany, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, and the UK.

Media Rights in Finland

Currently, Viaplay holds the NHL media rights in Finland through its owner NENT, covering over 1,400 games each season. However, the distribution of rights for the 2026-27 campaign has not yet been confirmed. Commercial network Nelonen, which acquired rights to the 4 Nations Face-Off competition in 2025, could be a potential suitor, though the cost of an NHL package may be a factor. Finnish viewers can also access NHL games through the league’s direct-to-consumer service, NHL.TV, which is distributed globally by DAZN.