With the focus around the Leafs still fully fixated on the playoffs, I'd imagine there aren't too many people who are worried about next season just yet. However, a pretty cool announcement dropped this morning that will see the Leafs taking part in next season's Global Series!
The Global Series is an annual event where the NHL travels to different locations around the world to host NHL games. Last year's event took place in Prague, Czech Republic and Tampere, Finland and involved the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks playing in Prague, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche playing in Tampere.
This year's event is set to take place in Stockholm, Sweden from November 16th through November 19th and will feature the Leafs, along with a pair of Atlantic Division rivals in the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, as well as a Central Division representative in the Minnesota Wild.
Funny enough, the two games that the Leafs will play during the trip are against Minnesota and Detroit. You'd have thought for sure that we'd get a Leafs/Sens game on the trip, with the Battle of Ontario being one of the league's biggest rivalries, but nevertheless, the Sens will also draw the Wild and the Red Wings on the trip. Like Toronto and Ottawa, Detroit and Minnesota will not play one another.
With the number of Swedish players in Toronto, including William Nylander, Calle Jarnkrok and Timothy Liljegren, I'm sure they're looking forward to taking part in this series and sharing a little taste of home with their teammates.
