The 2023 NHL Global Series – Sweden presented by Fastenal will feature the Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Senators and Wild in a slate of four games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, from Nov. 16-19. All stats are through games played Sunday, Nov. 6.
Some current storylines include Minnesota goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury needing five wins to tie Patrick Roy for second place on the NHL’s all-time list, Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews owning a League-leading 11 goals this season including three hat tricks as well as teammate William Nylander carrying an 11-game campaign-opening point streak. Nylander is one of 76 Swedish nationals to appear in at least one game this season (67 skaters, 9 goaltenders) and one of 14 to do so with Toronto (also Pontus Holmberg, Calle Jarnkrok, John Klingberg, William Lagesson & Timothy Liljegren), Detroit (Jonatan Berggren & Lucas Raymond), Ottawa (Erik Brannstrom & Anton Forsberg) or Minnesota (Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, Filip Gustavsson & Marcus Johansson).
Quick Clicks
* Games Outside North America
* Standings for Games Played Outside North America
FOUR CLUBS HEADED TO SWEDEN FOR FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS OF REGULAR SEASON ACTION
For four straight days in November, the NHL regular season schedule will include games from Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, as the Senators, Red Wings, Wild and Maple Leafs take part in the 2023 NHL Global Series from Nov. 16-19. The 2023-24 campaign is the 13th NHL season to include regular-season games outside North America, with the four contests set to boost the total to 42 since the first such games were played in 1997-98.
* Stockholm will become the first city outside North America to host an NHL regular-season game on four consecutive days. The only other time regular-season NHL play took place across four straight days overseas was in 2010-11 when Helsinki, Stockholm and Prague hosted a total of six games from Oct. 7-10, 2010.
* This will mark the second time that four unique matchups are played outside North America in one campaign (also 4 in 2011-12: NYR vs. LAK, ANA vs. BUF, NYR vs. ANA and BUF vs. LAK).
* Ottawa will compete in its fifth and sixth regular season games outside North America, which will tie Anaheim (6 GP) and San Jose (6 GP) for the most by an NHL team. The Senators (3-0-1) have earned points in each of their previous four contests and can surpass Anaheim (3-3-0) and Nashville (3-1-0) for the most regular season wins in games played outside North America. Ottawa’s regular-season trips across the Atlantic occurred in 2008-09 and 2017-18 and are accompanied by one preseason game outside North America.
* Detroit will play its third and fourth regular season games outside North America, following losses against the Blues at Ericsson Globe (now Avicii Arena) in Stockholm during the 2009 Premiere Series (4-3 L Oct. 2, 2009 and 5-3 L Oct. 3, 2009). The Red Wings also have played one preseason game outside North America and were part of an offseason tour in the spring of 1938 for nine games against the Canadiens in England and France.
* Minnesota also is set to play its third and fourth regular season games outside North America, following losses against the Hurricanes at Hartwall Arena (now Helsinki Halli) in Helsinki during the 2010 Premiere Series (4-3 L Oct. 7, 2010 and 2-1 S/O L Oct. 8, 2010). The Wild also have played one preseason game outside North America.
* These will mark Toronto’s first two regular season games contested outside North America. The Maple Leafs have played in five preseason games outside North America, making trips 20 and 30 years ago. In September 1993, the Maple Leafs faced the Rangers in back-to-back exhibition contests at Wembley Arena in London (losing 5-3 and 3-1) and in September 2003, the club played in Helsinki (5-3 W at Jokerit Helsinki) and Stockholm (9-2 W at Linkopings Djurgardens IF Stockholm and 3-0 W at Farjestads Bk Karlstad).
SWEDEN FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR NHL PLAY
Stockholm already has hosted the most NHL regular-season games of any city outside North America (12), with that number set to rise to 16 with the four contests during the 2023 NHL Global Series. That is more than double the total of the next closest city. All 16 contests will have occurred at Avicii Arena (previously Ericsson Globe).
* The most recent NHL regular season games played in Sweden were a back-to-back set between the Sabres and Lightning in 2019-20. Tampa Bay won both games and eventually ended the season as Stanley Cup champions. Four players who participated in those contests are now on a club headed to Sweden in 2023-24: Wild forwards Pat Maroon (TBL) and Marcus Johansson (BUF; Landskrona, Sweden), Senators forward Mathieu Joseph (TBL) and Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe (BUF).
* Maroon collected 2-1—3 for Tampa Bay across the two contests in 2019-20, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal on Nov. 8, 2019 (TBL 3, BUF 2). The next day, Maroon scored two goals in another Tampa Bay victory (TBL 5, BUF 3) to outshine Johansson, now his now teammate with Minnesota, who assisted on the opening goal for Buffalo with a cross-ice feed.
NHL HAS HAD SWEDISH INFLUENCE FOR DECADES
* In 2023-24, Sweden (403) became first non-North American country to have at least 400 different players appear in the NHL. The only countries with more are Canada (5,467) and the United States (1,402).
* A total of 105 Swedish-born players appeared in 2022-23, the third time in NHL history that 100+ Swedish-born players skated during one regular season (also 107 in 2019-20 & 105 in 2021-22). Sweden is the only non-North American country ever to ice 100+ players in the same NHL season.
* Swedish-born players made up 9.9% of the NHL in 2022-23 (105 of 1,058), the country’s second-highest percentage in history behind 11% of all players in 2019-20 (107 of 970). They are the only non-North American country ever to account for at least 10% of players in a single NHL season.
* The 2022-23 campaign saw Erik Karlsson (Landsbro, Sweden) and Elias Pettersson (Sundsvall, Sweden) reach the 100-point plateau, the third season in NHL history in which multiple Swedish-born players achieved the feat. The other instances were in 2002-03 when Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund (both of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden) each hit the mark, followed by 2009-10 when Henrik Sedin (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden)and Nicklas Backstrom (Gavle, Sweden) did so.
* Karlsson, the first European-born defenseman in League history to record a 100-point season, won the Norris Trophy in 2022-23 – the third time he has captured the award (also 2011-12 & 2014-15). He is one of three Swedish-born players to win the award following Nicklas Lidstrom (7x; Vasteras, Sweden) and Victor Hedman (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden). In total, Swedish-born defensemen have accounted for 11 of the 69 Norris Trophy wins, trailing only Canada (48) for the most of any country.
* A total of 41 different Swedish-born players have won the Stanley Cup, with William Karlsson (2023 VGK; Marsta, Sweden)the most recent. The most Stanley Cup wins by a Swedish-born player is four, achieved by Tomas Holmstrom (4 w/ DET; Pitea, Sweden), Lidstrom (4 w/ DET), Anders Kallur (4 w/ NYI; Ludvika, Sweden), Bobby Nystrom (4 w/ NYI; Stockholm, Sweden) and Stefan Persson (4 w/ NYI; Bjurholm, Sweden).
* There have been multiple prominent Swedish-born captains across the franchises participating in the 2023 NHL Global Series, including Mats Sundin (1997-98 – 2007-08; Bromma, Sweden) in Toronto, Daniel Alfredsson (1999-00 – 2012-13; Gothenburg, Sweden) and Karlsson (2014-15 – 2017-18) for Ottawa, as well as Lidstrom (2006-07 – 2011-12) and Henrik Zetterberg (2012-13 – 2017-18; Njurunda, Sweden) with Detroit. In 2008, Lidstrom became the first European player to captain a Stanley Cup-winning team.
* Seven Swedish-born players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Borje Salming (1996; Kiruna, Sweden), Sundin (2012), Forsberg (2014), Lidstrom (2015), Alfredsson (2022), along with Henrik and Daniel Sedin (2022; Ornskoldsvik, Sweden). By the time the 2023 NHL Global Series games are played, that number will stand at eight, as on Nov. 13, Henrik Lundqvist (Are, Sweden) will become the first Swedish-born goaltender to be inducted.
* Lidstrom skated his entire 20-season NHL career with the Red Wings and won the Norris Trophy seven times, second to only Bobby Orr (8x). Lidstrom ranks among the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time list for goals (8th; 264), assists (6th; 878) and points (6th; 1,142) by a defenseman.
* Sundin leads all Swedish-born players in career goals (564) and points (1,349). He spent parts of 13 seasons with Toronto, including 11 as captain, accumulating 420-567—987 to top the franchise’s all-time goals and points lists. When the Nordiques picked Sundin in the 1989 NHL Draft, he became the first European player to be selected first overall.
* Alfredsson was a sixth-round pick by the Senators in the 1994 NHL Draft and skated 17 of his 18 seasons with Ottawa (the other was with Detroit), where he ranks first on multiple all-time franchise lists including career goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108). Alfredsson became the 10th player selected in the sixth round of the NHL Draft or later to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he was honored as part of the Class of 2022.
* Toronto (Sundin & Salming) and Ottawa (Alfredsson & Karlsson) are two of three NHL franchises who have a Swedish-born player topping both their all-time points list overall and all-time points list by a defenseman. The other is Vancouver (H. Sedin & Alexander Edler, who hails from Ostersund, Sweden).
Ottawa Senators
* With the Senators playing in the first game of the 2023 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Anton Forsberg (Härnösand, Sweden) will have a chance to become the first Swedish-born goaltender to win an NHL regular season game in Sweden. Henrik Lundqvist (0-0-2; Are, Sweden) and Linus Ullmark (0-1-0; Lugnvik, Sweden) lost each of their appearances.
* Forsberg (48) and Wild goaltender Fillip Gustavsson (32; Skelleftea, Sweden) enter 2023-24 among a group of five active Swedish-born goaltenders with at least 30 career NHL regular season wins, behind Jacob Markstrom (192; Gavle, Sweden), Robin Lehner (152; Gothenburg, Sweden) and Ullmark(116).
* Brady Tkachuk’s father, Keith Tkachuk, played two of his 1,201 career NHL regular season games overseas, skating for the Blues in the 2009 Premiere Series – both contests were against the Red Wings at Ericsson Globe (now Avicii Arena) in Stockholm. Keith found the score sheet in each game, notching an assist in a 4-3 victory Oct. 2, 2009 and 2-1—3 in a 5-3 win the next day.
* Erik Brannstrom (Eksjo, Sweden) was selected 15th overall by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Draft but traded to Ottawa before making his NHL debut. He now is part of Senators blueline that ranks tied for the youngest defensive core in the NHL as of Nov. 6 (average age: 25.5, tied w/ ANA).
* Daniel Alfredsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) was the first player to skate for the modern-day Senators and have his number retired by the club. It happened in a ceremony Dec. 29, 2016, before a game against the Red Wings (the only other club he played for in the NHL).
Detroit Red Wings
* J.T. Compher (4 GP) could skate in his fifth and sixth regular season games outside North America; Erik Johnson (6 GP) and Ryan McDonagh (6 GP) are the only players in NHL history to appear in at least five such contests entering 2023-24.
* Lucas Raymond (Gothenburg, Sweden) is one of 11 Swedish-born players in NHL history to be selected among the first four picks of an NHL Draft (No. 4 in 2020). Raymond is the highest-selected Swedish-born player in Red Wings draft history, a franchise that has picked a League-leading 74 Swedish-born players (next closest is CGY w/ 41).
* Raymond (44-68—112 in 168 GP) recorded the 40th career goal in 2022-23 to become the eighth Swedish-born player in NHL history to record as many before age 22. He also became the 11th Swedish-born player in League history with 100+ points before his 23rd birthday.
* The Red Wings had eight Swedish-born players skate for them in 2022-23, the 10th time in NHL history that any team has had as many players from the Tre Kroner appear in at least one game within a regular season. Detroit accounts for seven of the 10 instances, following 2013-14 (10), 2011-12 (9), 2007-08 (9), 2012-13 (8), 2009-10 (8) and 2008-09 (8). The others were by the Kings in 2021-22 and 2022-23, as well as the 2019-20 Sabres (all 8).
Minnesota Wild
* Fillip Gustavsson (Skelleftea, Sweden) will have an opportunity to appear in an NHL game in his home country. Entering 2023-24, only two Swedish-born goaltenders have appeared in an NHL regular season game in Sweden: Henrik Lundqvist (0-0-2; Are, Sweden) and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark (0-1-0; Lugnvik, Sweden).
* Gustavsson recorded his 30th win in his 62nd career appearance in 2022-23, tying Johan Hedberg (62; Leksand, Sweden) for the fourth-fewest games to reach the mark among Swedish-born goaltenders behind Lundqvist(51), Johan Holmqvist (55; Tolfta, Sweden) and Pelle Lindbergh (56; Stockholm, Sweden).
* Jonas Brodin (Karlstad, Sweden) was selected 10th overall by Minnesota in the 2011 NHL Draft, with 2023-24 set to be his 12th NHL season (all with the Wild). Only Mikko Koivu (15) and captain Jared Spurgeon (14, including 2023-24) have had as long a tenure with the franchise.
* Brodin was the first Swedish-born the Wild ever selected in the first round of the NHL Draft and one of five opening-round picks the club has made who hail from the country, with Joel Eriksson Ek (No. 20 in 2015; Karlstad, Sweden), Filip Johansson (No. 24 in 2018; Vasteras, Sweden), Liam Ohgren (No. 19 in 2022; Stockholm, Sweden) and Jesper Wallstedt (No. 20 in 2021; Vasteras, Sweden) following in his footsteps.
* Two foundational players in Wild history hail from Sweden’s biggest rival on the international stage: Finnish icons Mikko Koivu (Turku, Finland) and Niklas Backstrom (Helsinki, Finland) top Minnesota’s all-time lists for careers games played by skaters and goaltenders, respectively, to go along with other club records held by each.
Toronto Maple Leafs
* Newly acquired Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) will be competing in his first regular season NHL contest in his home country. Klingberg has the fourth most career points among active Swedish-born defensemen and 10th most all-time.
* William Nylander (No. 8 in 2014) is the highest-drafted player born in Sweden or with Swedish nationality in Maple Leafs history. Nylander, born in Calgary while his father, Michael Nylander (Stockholm, Sweden), was playing for the Flames, is one of five players from the Tre Kroner to be drafted in the first round by Toronto (based on birth country or nationality). The others: Kenny Jonsson (No. 12 in 1993; Angelholm, Sweden), Timothy Liljegren (No. 17 in 2017; Kristianstad, Sweden), Alexander Steen (No. 24 in 2002; Swedish national) and Rasmus Sandin (No. 29 in 2018; Uppsala, Sweden).
* In 2022-23, Nylander recorded 40-47—87 and joined Mats Sundin (10x; last in 2007-08) as the second player of Swedish nationality to lead the Maple Leafs (tied or outright) in goals in a season.
* Calle Jarnkrok (Gavle, Sweden) recorded the first 20-goal season of his career in 2022-23, his 10th campaign in the NHL and first with the Maple Leafs. Though he spent his first eight seasons with the Predators, Jarnkrok was drafted in the NHL in 2010 as a second-round pick by the Red Wings – a club he’ll now face off against approximately two hours from his hometown.
Quick Hits:
A look into some of the other single-game highs that have taken place during the NHL’s regular-season games contested outside North America.
Most Goals in a Period, Player
2 – Mikko Rantanen, P3 on Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
– Nino Niederreiter, P2 on Oct. 8, 2022 (Global Series w/ NSH)
– Patrik Laine, P3 on Nov. 1, 2018 (Global Series w/ WPG)
– Luke Adam, P2 on Oct. 8, 2011 (Premiere Series w/ BUF)
– Nathan Horton, P3 on Oct. 9, 2010 (Premiere Series w/ BOS)
– Paul Kariya, P2 on Oct. 2, 2009 (Premiere Series w/ STL)
Most Assists in a Period, Player
3 – Cale Makar, P2 on Nov. 5, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
– Nathan MacKinnon, P3 on Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
Most Points in a Period, Player
3 – Theo Fleury, 1-2—3 in P2 on Oct. 10, 1998 (GAME ONe Japan ’98 w/ CGY)
– Mikko Rantanen, 2-1—3 in P3 on Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
– Nathan MacKinnon, 0-3—3 in P3 on Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
– Cale Makar, 0-3—3 in P2 on Nov. 5, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
Most Goals in a Game, Team
6 – Colorado Avalanche, 2022 Global Series (Nov. 4, 2022)
Most Assists in a Game, Player
4 – Nathan MacKinnon, Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
Most Goals in a Game, Player
3 – Mikko Rantanen, Nov. 4, 2022 (Global Series w/ COL)
– Patrik Laine, Nov. 1, 2018 (Global Series w/ WPG)
– Theo Fleury, Oct. 10, 1998 (GAME ONe Japan ’98 w/ CGY)
Most Points in a Game, Player
5 – Theo Fleury, 3-2—5 on Oct. 10, 1998 (GAME ONe Japan ’98 w/ CGY)
* The most saves by a goaltender in a regular-season game contested outside North America is 52, by Tomas Vokoun for the Panthers in a 4-3 shootout win against the Blackhawks at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland on Oct. 2, 2009 as part of the 2009 Premiere Series.
* Only two goaltenders have posted a shutout in the 38 regular-season games contested outside North America to date: Boston’s Tim Thomas in a 3-0 win against Phoenix on Oct. 10, 2010 in Prague, Czechia and Chicago’s Antti Niemi in a 4-0 win versus Florida on Oct. 3, 2009 in Helsinki, Finland.
