The 2008/2009 National Hockey League season will open in Prague and Stockholm next October. While the Swedish capital will see two games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, hockey fans in Prague are in for a one-off treat. Jaromír Jágr, the most brilliant Czech star in the NHL and the captain of the New York Rangers, will lead his team in two matches against Tampa Bay at Prague’s O2 Arena (formerly Sazka Arena).
The back-to-back games are scheduled for October 4 and 5 at Prague’s Sazka Arena, one of the most modern ice-hockey venues in Europe. Before coming to Prague, the New York Ranges are also to face the European Champion League’s winner, the Russian Metallurg Magnitogorsk, in Victoria Cup in Switzerland.
The Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, Sept. 24 will play a preseason game against the Frolunda Indians of Sweden’s Elite League in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the Scandinavium Arena. Senators team captain Daniel Alfredsson played three seasons with Frolunda before joining the NHL for his rookie season in 1995-96.
The Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings successfully opened the 2007-08 NHL regular season in front of two sellout crowds at O2 Arena in London prompting Mr. Yaffe, NHL VP, to say, “Opening the NHL regular season with games in Europe was an experiment we started in London last year and the success we experienced showed us that Ceska Sportovni’s hopes of having games in Prague were something that could be fulfilled. With the number of Czech players in our league, we recognized a very high potential for success in the Czech Republic.”
Jaromir Jagr will most probably play with the New York Rangers team in its NHL opening game in Prague in October, said Rangers GM Glen Sather, adding that he hopes that Jagr’s contract with the club will be extended.
The current contract of Jagr, 36, a Czech-born star forward, with New York Rangers expires after the current season.
Sather said Jagr is one of the best NHL players and best scorers. He is the team’s captain and he will enter the Hall of Fame one day, therefore New York Rangers want him to continue playing with them, Sather said.
He said Jagr has already told him he wants to continue playing with the team.
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