The NHL said it will take Finland’s new ban on Russian athletes into account when deciding whether to hold future regular-season games in Helsinki. The announcement came a day after the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken played the first of two NHL games in the Finnish capital on Thursday.
Finland and Norway announced plans on Thursday to block Russian athletes from entering their countries, with Finland’s restrictions coming into effect from Monday. The Finnish foreign ministry said Russians would be allowed to work in Finland only on “tasks that are essential to Finland’s national interests,” adding that Russia “uses sports as a propaganda tool.” The statement did not differentiate between Russian players on national teams, those competing as neutrals, or Russian athletes in club sports like hockey or soccer.
The NHL has staged regular-season games in Finland before, as part of its Global Series in 2022 and 2024, but no future dates have been confirmed. The league said on Friday, when asked whether Finland’s decision would affect plans for more games there, “We are aware of the government’s position and we’ll have to take that into account.”
As of the start of the 2026-27 season in September, there were 53 Russian players on NHL rosters, making up 7.3% of the league and ranking as the fourth-largest nationality group. Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov assisted a goal for the Hurricanes in their 4-1 victory over the Kraken in Helsinki on Thursday. Pyotr Kochetkov was Carolina’s backup goaltender. The two teams will meet again in Finland on Saturday.
The Finnish government’s decision follows a backlash after Russia was reinstated for the ice hockey world championships, an event not governed by the NHL. The move could have wider implications in other sports as well. The International Skating Union warned of a “possible consequential impact” on its figure skating world championships scheduled in Finland this March.
Meanwhile, Estonia has informed the International Ski and Snowboard Federation that it will not allow athletes from Russia or Belarus to enter the country. Estonia is set to host the world junior championships in Nordic skiing in January.
The NHL’s statement did not clarify how the ban would affect Russian players already under contract with NHL teams or the logistics of staging games involving those athletes in Finland under the new restrictions. The league’s next steps remain unconfirmed.
According to Yahoo Sports.
