Key Takeaways:
- An NHL outdoor game in Europe is getting closer.
- Germany is a leading option.
- Allianz Arena could host the event.
- The NHL is expanding its presence in Germany.
- Bayern Munich is now part of that strategy.
- German stars give the league local appeal.
- The game could help grow NHL interest across Europe.
An NHL outdoor game in Europe suddenly feels less like a commissioner’s wish list and more like the next step in a deliberate international strategy. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says an outdoor European game is likely in the “relatively near future,” Germany is among the strongest candidates, and Munich’s 75,000-seat Allianz Arena has already entered the conversation. Add the league’s new FC Bayern Munich partnership and a commitment to regular-season games in Germany for the next three seasons, and the message is obvious: the NHL is no longer treating Europe as an occasional road trip. It is trying to build a market.
For fans tracking how bigger international events can eventually influence futures, scheduling and betting interest, the best NHL betting sites provide a useful look at the wider hockey market.
An NHL Outdoor Game in Europe Is No Longer a Gimmick
Outdoor hockey has always sold emotion. Snow. Stadium lights. Throwback sweaters. A camera inevitably finding somebody drinking something hot while pretending not to be freezing.
But taking that formula to Europe would serve a different purpose.
Daly said Friday that an outdoor European game will happen, even if the league has not established a date. He also identified Germany as a legitimate contender and acknowledged Allianz Arena as a possible venue.
That matters because Allianz Arena is not simply a big building. It is the home of one of global soccer’s most recognizable clubs.
Putting NHL hockey there would turn a regular-season event into a statement about where the league believes its next audience can come from.
Germany Is Becoming More Than a Global Series Stop
The NHL has spent years taking games overseas. The mistake would be treating Germany’s current push as more of the same.
Chicago and Ottawa are scheduled to play two regular-season games in Düsseldorf on December 18 and 20. The league has also committed to returning to Germany in each of the next three seasons, with Munich and Cologne scheduled to host games during 2027-28.
That is not tourism. That is repetition.
| NHL Germany Growth Test | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 2026 Global Series | Chicago vs. Ottawa in Düsseldorf |
| 2027-28 games | Munich and Cologne join rotation |
| FC Bayern partnership | Access to a massive sports audience |
| Outdoor game possibility | Potential marquee European event |
| Long-term strategy | Germany becomes a recurring NHL market |
One game creates curiosity. Repeated games create habits.
That difference is everything.
FC Bayern Gives the NHL Something Money Cannot Easily Buy
The NHL’s multiyear partnership with FC Bayern Munich may ultimately matter more than any single game.
The agreement includes digital campaigns, co-branded content, youth programming, street hockey, watch parties and activations around Allianz Arena. The purpose is not difficult to decode: borrow some of Bayern’s enormous cultural reach and introduce NHL hockey to fans who may never have actively searched for it.
It is smart sports-business logic.
North American leagues often talk about “growing internationally” as if planting a logo in another country automatically creates supporters. It does not.
Fans need players, events, rivalries and reasons to care.
Germany already has Leon Draisaitl and JJ Peterka. Now the NHL is adding regular games and a connection with Bayern. An outdoor spectacle would give the entire strategy a centerpiece.
Allianz Arena Could Produce the NHL’s European Super Bowl Moment
Allianz Arena seats roughly 75,000 for soccer.
Imagine NHL hockey there.
Not because bigger always means better, but because the visual itself would travel far beyond traditional hockey media. A packed Bayern stadium surrounding an NHL rink is the kind of image that reaches sports fans who would never watch a Tuesday-night game from North America.
That exposure matters.
The league has mastered the domestic outdoor-event formula with the Winter Classic and Stadium Series. Europe offers an opportunity to make the event feel new again.
For readers comparing hockey markets alongside the broader sports betting landscape, a larger European audience also creates an interesting long-term commercial question. More meaningful games in Europe mean more local broadcast windows, sponsorship opportunities and eventually more wagering attention.
The league is not building this strategy for one afternoon of television.
Germany Has the Players to Make the Strategy Work
There is another reason Germany makes sense: star power.
Germany also fits into a much larger expansion strategy. The NHL’s partnership with FC Bayern Munich is designed to grow hockey through fan engagement, digital content, grassroots programs and cross-promotion, giving the league an established sports brand to help reach new European audiences.
Draisaitl is already one of the defining players of his generation. Peterka represents another recognizable German NHL talent, and the league is deliberately connecting its upcoming German events to players with local roots.
That is far more effective than sending two random teams overseas and hoping the jerseys sell.
International expansion works best when fans can attach themselves to people.
Germany does not need to be convinced hockey exists. It has its own hockey tradition. What the NHL needs to sell is a stronger emotional connection to its version of the sport.
Draisaitl playing in Cologne, Peterka appearing in Munich and perhaps an eventual outdoor game at Allianz Arena provide exactly that bridge.
The NHL Should Stop Thinking Small in Europe
The safest approach would be continuing to schedule two or four European games every season, collect the sellout photographs and fly home.
The possibility of an outdoor NHL game in Europe has moved beyond casual speculation. Bill Daly said Germany belongs among the leading candidates, with Munich’s Allianz Arena emerging as a potential venue capable of turning the event into a major international showcase.
The more ambitious strategy is turning one country into a genuine second home.
Germany appears to be the NHL’s choice.
That makes the potential NHL outdoor game Europe conversation bigger than another entry on the outdoor-event calendar. It is a test of whether the league can convert international curiosity into durable fandom.
The ingredients are already there: German stars, repeated regular-season games, grassroots investment, a major partnership with Bayern Munich and one of Europe’s most recognizable stadiums sitting in the background.
Now the NHL should finish the idea.
Put a rink inside Allianz Arena, fill the place, and make Europe feel like part of the league rather than somewhere the league visits every winter.
