The Montreal Canadiens’ European stint could happen sooner than expected.
Back in December, Francois Gagnon of RDS reported that the Canadiens were looking to play multiple games in Paris, France, but that the NHL could only green-light the decision as of the 2025-26 season.
Earlier this week, though, insider and editor in chief of the Fourth Period, Dave Pagnotta, gave fans an updated timeline of when the Habs could land in France.
“The Montreal Canadiens are poised to go to Paris, by the looks of things… in October of 2025,” Pagnotta said in his Trade Deadline primer on Monday.
Along with providing other Global Series updates about the Buffalo Sabres going to Munich, Germany, and the New Jersey Devils heading to Prague, Czechia, Pagnotta revealed that Montreal and the NHL are in discussion, adding that Sweden could be in the mix for other clubs.
“It looks like the Canadiens and the NHL [are] still working on things to get the Habs over there,” he said. “And I believe Stockholm will be the other Global Series host at that point.”
Back in 2017, the NHL announced the return of regular season games played outside North America in a new event called the NHL Global Series. Most recently, we saw the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs play four regular-season games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on four consecutive days.
Hosting games abroad is nothing new, though, with the league hosting its first European tour back in 1938 in a matchup between the Red Wings and Canadiens.
The Habs have left the continent a few times since then too, the last time being in September 1992, when they faced off against the Chicago Blackhawks for a pair of games at London’s Wembley Arena.
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