Seattle Kraken to play 2 games next season in Finland

The Seattle Kraken and Carolina Hurricanes are set to play two games in Finland next season as part of the NHL’s Global Series.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mar 23, 2026, 11:10 AM Updated: 11:42 am

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Eeli Tolvanen of the Seattle Kraken celebrates a goal against Boston with teammate Kaapo Kakko. (Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

(Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Seattle Kraken and Carolina Hurricanes are set to play two games in Finland next season as part of the NHL’s Global Series.

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The league and the players’ association announced Monday that Carolina and Seattle will face off Nov. 12 and 14 in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The Kraken are heading abroad for the first time in their sixth season of existence and the Hurricanes for the second time and first since 2010.

Each team has a pair of Finns currently on its roster: Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi for Carolina and Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen for Seattle. All but Tolvanen are under contract for next season.

Kraken crew, we’re going global ✈️

Stay up to date and learn everything you need to know about the #SeaKraken’s adventure to Helsinki for next season’s @NHL Global Series games vs. the Carolina Hurricanes → https://t.co/AYgz31Uw4c pic.twitter.com/CkUfVBQV5p

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) March 23, 2026

The NHL has staged 42 regular-season games in Europe since 2007 and has two more scheduled for Germany in December with Ottawa and Chicago set to play in Duesseldorf in December. Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, formerly known as Hartwall Arena, has been the site of seven of the games, most recently in 2018 between Florida and Winnipeg.

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