NHL Expected to Return to Prague for Five Seasons

The NHL could roll into Prague for five seasons, starting in October 2019

Katrina Modrá

Written by Katrina Modrá Published on 31.10.2018 10:22:03 (updated on 31.10.2018) Reading time: 1 minute

After eight years, the National Hockey League (NHL) could be returning to the Czech capital, reports iDnes.cz.

The campaign to bring the elite overseas league to O2 Arena is being led by businessman Tomáš Peter, owner of Czech Sports.

In 2008, four teams from the NHL (the New York Rangers, the Ottawa Senators, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning) opened their regular seasons in Europe.

The first ever NHL ice hockey game took place at Prague’s O2 Arena in front of almost 17,000 fans with the Rangers and the Lightning playing a two-game series.

The Rangers won both games, minus hometown hero Jaromír Jágr who had left the team earlier that year.

The NHL returned for the opening season in October 2010 when two Boston and Phoenix matches took place in Prague.

The publication reports that the final decision will come from the NHL. Peter, however, is confident that NHL play — three league games and two preparatory matches — should take place in Prague as early as October of next year until 2023.

It isn’t clear yet which teams would hit the Czech capital, though local hockey fans are surely rooting for the Philadelphia Flyers striker Jakub Voráček or the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrňák to take the ice at O2 Arena.

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