Alex Ovechkin reveals NHL was heading to Russia in 2020

The NHL has taken things international in recent years, with games having taken place in countries like Sweden, England, the Czech Republic and China. 

And had it not been for the global COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020, the NHL was reportedly going to be featuring a pair of games in Russia involving the Washington Capitals, who are led by the Moscow-born Alex Ovechkin. 

The Capitals captain recently disclosed that the NHL was in the process of finalizing two games as part of their Global Series that would have the Capitals face the St. Louis Blues; first in Moscow, and then in St. Petersburg. But those plans were scrapped thanks to the onslaught of Covid.

“It [was going to happen]. But, unfortunately, it didn’t.” Ovechkin told Pavel Lysenkov. “Washington was supposed to play in Moscow with St. Louis. However, then a well-known virus came into the world and a pandemic began. The topic went on pause. “The only thing left to do was sign the papers. We were supposed to play two games against St. Louis in Russia. One in Moscow, the other in St. Petersburg.”

Thanks to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, it's likely not realistic to see the NHL within Russian borders any time soon.

For this season, the NHL announced that the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Minnesota Wild all will be doing battle in Stockholm from November16-19. The Red Wings and Senators will kick things off on November 16, followed by the Red Wings and Maple Leafs on November 17. Subsequently, the Wild and Senators will play on November 18, and capped off by the Maple Leafs facing the Wild on November 19.

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