The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers will play a preseason contest in London, Ont., the teams announced Tuesday.
The contest will take place at Budweiser Gardens, home ice of the OHL’s London Knights, on October 2. It will be the first time the arena has seen an NHL preseason game since the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs faced off in 2014.
“We are very excited to showcase Panthers hockey outside of South Florida to a great hockey town like London,” said Panthers executive chairman Peter Luukko. “Budweiser Gardens is a first class facility and an excellent venue for fans to watch two exciting, 2015-16 division-winning teams, Florida and Dallas face off. It is sure to be a terrific event for both the players and the city of London.”
It’s the first of two neutral site games the Panthers will play in the preseason, both having a strong connection to the organization. Incoming general manager Tom Rowe played for the Knights from 1973-76. The team’s second neutral site game will take place at the United States Military Academy at West Point on October 8 against the New Jersey Devils. The Panthers have several people in hockey operations with connections there.
Tickets for the game in London go on sale at 10am ET on August 15.
