STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- The Penguins might be the darlings of the NHL, but the way star center Sidney Crosby figures it, they won't be the main draw at the Globe Arena this weekend when they open the regular season with two games against the Ottawa Senators.

That's because of Daniel Alfredsson, the veteran Ottawa winger who is one in a line of Swedish NHL players considered heroes in their native country.

"We don't have any Swedish guys on our team, so I'm sure we'll be the underdog because of Alfredsson," Crosby said.

Alfredsson and his Senators teammates are spending most of the week working out in his hometown of Gothenburg before arriving here tomorrow, when local fans can get a look at both teams as afternoon practices are open to the public. The games Saturday and Sunday sold out quickly and are expected to draw more than 16,000 fans each night.

There are no firm plans for another NHL game in Sweden, but there are those who believe Stockholm eventually could be the home of an NHL team.

"As time goes on, you'll see us making increasing movement into Europe. Certainly, it's a possibility that, within 10 years' time, we will be playing games there. ... It's a priority for us. It's focused on as one of our primary growth opportunities," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last month, sparking a renewed stir over league expansion overseas.

Commissioner Gary Bettman subsequently downplayed that notion, saying there had perhaps been "some generous characterizations of what Bill Daly has said. The fact is, anything is possible. We don't have plans yet, or maybe never, to put franchises on the continent. We think international endeavors are important because 30 percent of our players come from outside North America, so it's a priority, but our first priority is here in North America."

NFL Europe, an overseas minor league, didn't make it, and it's doubtful the NBA or Major League Baseball are heading across the Atlantic.

"Of all the professional leagues, if anyone were able to do it, I think it would be the NHL with the popularity of hockey in Europe," Penguins president David Morehouse said.

Although there are concerns over the cost and physical toll of regular overseas travel, Sweden would seem a prime candidate to make the short list if the NHL starts planting satellite franchises outside North America.

"You can't compare hockey in Canada to, I guess, anywhere in the world, but hockey's a big sport [in Sweden], probably second to soccer, which is the biggest sport without question, but hockey's big," Alfredsson said.

"Especially now with the coverage and the media, with the Internet, there's a lot more NHL games that are on over in Europe and Sweden compared to when I was younger."

Alfredsson and other Swedish stars in the NHL -- most notably the stable of them with Stanley Cup champion Detroit -- get a lot of coverage in their home country. Penguins forward Jeff Taffe visited a friend in Gothenburg over the summer and saw a little hockey fever.

"It's pretty big," Taffe said. "All the guys, they follow hockey. They know quite a bit about it. It's kind of hard for them to follow it when the games are on in the middle of the night [Sweden time], but I think everybody over there is kind of excited to see what it brings."

Alfredsson described the two-game set with the Penguins in Sweden as "a good way to test out the market and see the interest that we can create and show off our game for Europe."

He's doubtful the NHL will land in Europe.

"I see it as a possibility. I think it's still a long shot," Alfredsson, 35, said. "But I know I won't be playing if that happens."

Yet he's firm about whether Sweden could support an NHL franchise.

"Yeah, without a question," he said.

Still, the games this weekend -- the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning are playing twice in Prague, Czech Republic, another hockey hotbed -- might not be a realistic gauge of interest in the NHL overseas because of the novelty factor.

The top-tier Stockholm pro hockey team, Djurgarden, moved into the futuristic Globe Arena but couldn't fill it and moved back into the old Hovet Arena next door, where it draws enthusiastic crowds of 6,000 or so.

"You never know," Penguins center Max Talbot said. "I think it's an option. I wouldn't mind it. It's nice to travel, to see the world. The world's getting more global, not just the economy, but everything's starting to get closer and closer. Maybe there will be a world league one day."