NHL announces Devils, Oilers to play in Sweden; Panthers, Jets to Finland

The NHL is headed overseas next season.

The league announced Tuesday the Devils, Oilers, Panthers and Jets will play regular-season games in Europe as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series.

The Devils are scheduled to face off against the Oilers to open the regular season Oct. 6 in Gothenburg, Sweden, while the Panthers and Jets are slated to play Nov. 1 and 2 in Helsinki, Finland.

The games will showcase various European standouts, including Devils center and Switzerland native Nico Hischier, Oilers center Leon Draisaitl from Germany, Finnish Panthers center Aleksander Barkov and Jets winger Patrik Laine, who is also from Finland. 

"It's going to be an unbelievable experience for the team and the whole Finnish crowd," Laine said in an NHL release. "Most of the people haven't seen NHL hockey live so it's a nice opportunity for them to see all of the best players in the world. It's going to be unreal for sure."

The NHL isn't stopping in Europe. The league is also expected to play exhibition games in China after the Kings and Canucks made a trip there last season.