Oilers vs. Senators in Germany? Friedman believes it makes ‘too much sense’
Could the Edmonton Oilers play a game overseas in the near future? Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes there’s a strong chance. In his 32 Thoughts blog last Thursday, Friedman speculated that an Edmonton Oilers vs Ottawa Senators game in Germany is a possibility in the near future.
“Have mentioned a few times now that the NHL wants to increase its footprint into Germany,” he wrote. “Edmonton (Leon Draisaitl) vs. Ottawa (Tim Stutzle) makes too much sense not to happen. In his Board of Governors interview with Kyle Bukauskas, Senators owner Michael Andlauer sure made it sound like that’s as inevitable as Thanos.”
The NHL looks to Germany as an opportunity as they continue to explore European markets and beyond.
Most recently, in September 2024, the Buffalo Sabres played EHC Red Bull Munich (DEL) as part of the NHL Global Series Challenge, the seventh pre-season game in Germany since 2008. That was also the grand opening of the SAP Garden in Munich, which received rave reviews. With the NHL looking into markets in Asia and Australia, Germany remains a high priority. This website displays a range of ticket prices for an anticipated game as soon as 2026, citing a huge appetite for a return. “I think Germany and Switzerland are both prime candidates for regular-season games in the future, so probably in the not-too-distant future,” said Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner, in August 2024.Oilers in Cologne
Of course, the Edmonton Oilers have travelled to Germany to play before.
On Oct. 3, 2018, the Oilers played the Cologne Sharks (Kölner Haie), the hometown of Leon Draisaitl, and won in overtime 4-3. The Sharks were coached by Draisaitl’s dad Peter. Fellow German Tobias Rieder played on Draisaitl’s line in that game, as they combined to score the game’s first goal.
“It was pretty cool having another German on the team and on my line. It’s pretty special and fun to talk some German once in a while,” Draisaitl said afterwards.
The Oilers continued on to play the New Jersey Devils in their regular season opener in Gothenburg, Sweden.
History of games in GermanyThe lone regular season game took place on October 8, 2011 between the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings at the 02 World Arena in Berlin. At the time, the Sabres featured two German players, Jochen Hecht and Christian Ehrhoff, and Austrian Thomas Vanek.
From Sept. 6-8 in 1990, the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues played in the Epson Cup tournament against Düsseldorfer EG. The Blues smashed the Oilers 10-1 in the final. The Oilers then travelled to EC Graz, and EC Hedos Munich, in West Germany and Austria, to play exhibitions.
NHL participation in Germany dates as far back as May 1959, where the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins went on a 23-game tour of Europe. They played in Dortmund, Essen, Krefeld, and West Berlin.
Reports were that the first West Berlin game was a “flop” and faced severe attendance issues due to the high ticket prices, with just 600 people there to see it. ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365