August 21 \u2013 In a bid to grow its popularity in Germany, the National Hockey League (NHL) in the US and Canada has announced a multi-year partnership with football giant Bayern Munich, alongside four more regular season games on German soil in the coming years.<\/p>\n
The league will stage two games featuring the Boston Bruins in Munich in 2027\/28, plus two in Cologne. Those follow a Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators double header in D\u00fcsseldorf this December.<\/p>\n
The deal took six months to negotiate with the logic, for the NHL, being about learning from the local giant. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just a team,\u201d said deputy commissioner Bill Daly. \u201cThis is like 60% of the people in Germany are Bayern fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s launch made for an unlikely scene, with Daly presenting a replica Stanley Cup and Bayern star Alphonso Davies joining German born NHLers Leon Draisaitl and JJ Peterka on stage.<\/p>\n
Bayern\u2019s chief marketing officer Rouven Kasper, drawn to the NHL\u2019s international following, sees a two-way street. \u201cThe NHL is one of the biggest leagues in the world, the best hockey league in the world and this is our ambition: We always want to work together only with the best,\u201d he said, citing a shared closeness with fans, and Bayern\u2019s own designs on the US market.<\/p>\n
The NHL isn\u2019t stopping there, already committing more games for 2028\/29 and eyeing a possible outdoor game at the 75,000 seat Allianz Arena. A league analysis flagged Germany, population 84 million, as a major growth priority.<\/p>\n