The NHL is heading back to Germany in a big way, and it’s doing it with one of the country’s biggest sports brands.
On Thursday, the league and Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich announced a multi-year partnership aimed at growing hockey in Germany. Along with that agreement, the NHL also said the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins will meet in the 2027 NHL Global Series in Munich.
The partnership is designed to do more than just put two logos on the same announcement. It also gives Bayern a path to expand its presence in North America, while the two sides work together on community engagement, original content development and youth outreach.
The plan includes co-branded content and merchandise, digital and social media campaigns, plus street hockey and watch party events in Munich over the next couple of years. The NHL and Bayern will also collaborate on player appearances, experiential activations and other storytelling initiatives.
The on-ice centerpiece of the announcement comes at SAP Garden, where the Bruins and Oilers will play next season. Edmonton will have a familiar face carrying the local connection: Cologne native Leon Draisaitl is set to return to Germany with the Oilers for the first time since they played Kolner Hale in Oct.
- That trip came before Edmonton’s Global Series matchup against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden, and it remains the Oilers’ only regular-season game overseas.
Before taking on Boston, the Oilers will also play twice at Cologne’s Laxness Arena.
Boston’s tie to the event runs through Munich native J.J. Peterka, who will get the chance to skate in front of his home crowd. The Bruins haven’t played regular-season games in Europe since October 2010, when the Original Six club split a pair of games with the Phoenix Coyotes in Prague, Czechia.
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