Calgary Flames to play two preseason games in China next season
By Ramina Shlah
After some talks that the Calgary Flames would play a preseason game in China this upcoming fall, it’s now been confirmed that they will.
In January, the NHL Board of Governors met to discuss the possibility of what teams would be playing preseason games in China next season. The Calgary Flames were among one of those possibilities. Not just preseason games, but some teams will be playing regular season games as well.
The Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils will be playing one game in Sweden, then the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers will play two games in Finland in November.
While they didn’t announce anything to do with the Flames, multiple TSN insiders have reported that Calgary and the Boston Bruins could play two preseason games in China this upcoming fall.
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During last night’s game, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported that it’s now confirmed and the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins will be playing a couple of preseason games in China in September. The NHL first tried this out this past season with the hopes to grow the sport in lower hockey-market countries, like China.
This season, the LA Kings and Vancouver Canucks played two preseason games in China and it was a big success. So now Calgary and Boston will be following suite. Silly me, how could I forget about the infamous Calgary and Boston rivalry?
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The decision for Calgary and Boston has yet to be announced by the league or by the Board of Governors. So take all this info with a grain of salt, but it’s about 99% confirmed that these two preseason games will happen.