NHL asks fans in Finland to pay for entry to practices

Would you pay to watch the Jets practise?

It’s either the first step into a bold, new world of revenue generation or it’s an ill-conceived attempt at a cash grab that’ll undo much of the goodwill the NHL is trying to muster in Finland.

By now you’ve heard the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers will play a pair of regular season games in Helsinki Nov. 1 and 2 as part of the NHL Global Series.

Sparked by the star power of two Finns, Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, the two games were virtual sellouts as of Friday afternoon.

That’s some 27,000 tickets scooped up at prices up to $350.

The NHL has decided to see if it can dig just a little deeper into the pockets of Finnish fans.

The league announced a “special opportunity ” for fans to attend the Oct. 31 practices of the two teams.

All you have to do is buy $75 worth of hockey equipment on a Finnish website and you’ll get a “free” ticket, plus the opportunity to buy additional tickets at $30 each. While supplies last, of course.

Fans who don’t really need equipment can wait until the public sale Sunday and get tickets at the “fan-friendly price” of $30. For a practice.

I checked in with Finnish journalist Pekka Jalonen to get his take.

“My opinion is that NHL is stupid and greedy,” Jalonen said via email. “NHL has a great chance to promote the game and asking money for practice makes people angry. Tickets for the games are expensive so practices should be free.”

Jalonen isn’t sure many people will pay for the spectacle of a practice.