Daniel Alfredsson will return to his native Sweden to begin the 2008-09 NHL season, with Tampa Bay sharpshooter Vincent Lecavalier making his Czech Republic debut.

The NHL announced on Saturday that next season will kick off with games on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 in Europe.

NHL leading scorer Daniel Alfredsson could be heading back to his native Sweden to begin the 2008 regular season.
(Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)

Alfredsson and the Ottawa Senators will face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Stockholm's Globe Arena.

Lecavalier and the Lightning will play the New York Rangers in two games at Sazka Arena in Prague.

"It will be a great life experience not to mention a great thing for the game," Lecavalier told the Canadian Press. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Lecavalier's enthusiasm wasn't exactly matched by NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly. While the union is unlikely to scuttle the plans, Kelly called the announcement premature.

"The CBA says these events can't happen unless the Players' Association approves it," Kelly said. "And the reality is, while we approved conceptually with playing international games, we have not approved Stockholm, Prague or Bern. And there's still a lot of details to work out.

"And the problem with rushing to announce these things, it places an unfair pressure on the Players' Association and the players to now go along because it's already been publicly announced, because otherwise you look like a schmuck by derailing this enterprise."

Later on Saturday, Kelly filled in Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman on some of the "details" he was referring to.

"We simply need to see the details in terms of travel, accommodations, schedule, promotional activity, things of that nature, so we can discuss it with the players, make sure they are comfortable with it.

The NHL began this season with a pair of games at London's O2 Arena between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, which Kelly said were well received by the players.

"The feedback I got from the Ducks and the Kings was that it was a very positive experience," Kelly told HNIC. "They thought that the accommodations were first class and it was very professionally done."

Next season's plan will mark the first time the league has played two games on the same day in Europe.

The Rangers, it was announced, will be the NHL's representative at the first Victoria Cup on Oct. 1. New York will play Russian team Metallurg Magnitogorsk in an international tournament in Bern, Switzerland.

"It is a delight to bring our game to more of our great international fans," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "We will start next season with 'doubleheaders' in two outstanding venues, and we're very excited about that."

Bettman admitted to HNIC's Ron MacLean on Saturday that there were still some details to be worked out with the players, but he was confident they'd be on board.

"The players' association has every right to be involved, has every right to consent," Bettman said. "Although I assure you that if we didn't have their consent to make the announcement today, we wouldn't have."

With files from the Canadian Press