How would you like to see best-on-best hockey come back?

How would you like to see Best-on-best hockey come back?


  • Total voters
    102

JETZZZ

Registered User
Oct 27, 2010
747
455
Winnipeg Manitoba
What would you personally like to see happen the most ( Not what is most realistic...I don't think any are at this point)

1) NHL starts season in September, not October. Season now ends around May 15th at the very latest. IIHF moves World Championship back to June 1st, becomes best-on-best.

2) NHLPA/IIHF/someone somewhere somehow convinces NHL to continue taking Olympic breaks in February, Olympic hockey becomes best-on-best again.

3) NHL convinces IOC to move men's ice hockey to summer Olympics, best-on-best ice hockey in August.

4) NHL's WCoH returns to previous formats with no gimmick teams, just national teams and is held in September every 4 years, whether a lockout is expected or not.

5) IIHF takes over running the WCoH, somehow gets all the top leagues, national federations on board to have a tournament every 4 years in February. Like FIFA world cup, but for hockey...except for all that corruption stuff, hopefully.

6) other idea?
 
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Xokkeu

Registered User
Apr 5, 2012
6,891
193
Frozen
Lol. What I would like? 40-50 game NHL season October to February with playoffs March and April.

World Cup/ championship every year.

Of course that’s NEVER going to happen in anyway
 
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Doshell Propivo

Registered User
Dec 5, 2005
11,233
4,884
Option 2 for sure.

While I like option 1, I think having it every year would dilute it a bit. A true, best-on-best has more panache when it is every four years. And having it be the Olympics makes it even more special. Most fans and most players want the NHL at the Olympics. Bring it back.
 

Jablkon

Registered User
May 23, 2014
1,693
131
Czech Republic
Option 2 and to reduce number of WHC teams from 16 to 14. 5 is ok as well, could be interesting but that will not happen imo.
 

Orange Dragon

Registered User
Feb 5, 2016
210
100
Option number one would be best, but it would work only if NHL season is shortened to lets say 60-70 games. Which is never gonna happen. So option 2 for me.
 

Dr Jan Itor

Registered User
Dec 10, 2009
44,922
19,779
MinneSNOWta
I actually like #3 the most. The Cup is handed out in June, why would it be sacrilegious to play for Olympic gold in July/August ?

Though the thought of best-on-best every year (option #1) is more appealing than every 4 years (option #3). I just don't think that the top players will want to do it every single year, especially those that go far in the playoffs, so I don't know if you'll get best-on-best like you think you would.
 

Hanji

Registered User
Oct 14, 2009
3,153
2,637
Wisconsin
The only option should be the Olympics. The highest level of hockey on the highest stage.

In terms of viewership, importance and exposure, an NHL World Cup will only reach existing hockey fans. Big frigging deal.
The OG captivates fans from all walks of life all over the globe.
 

ulvvf

Registered User
May 9, 2014
2,744
150
1 easily. Olympics is about many sports, the sport need one tournament with the best in that is only about hockey. Plus i think every 4th eyar is to far between, every second year would be better. So i would prefer if world championship was the best of best tournament.
 

QnebO

Wheel, snipe, celly
Feb 11, 2010
9,763
644
Other Idea 6:

World Championships and World Cup make deal, 50-50 revenue and it becomes hybrid of both, held every 2 years ect. NA gets it every 2 years, some european country the other every 2 years. IIHF get revenue in Europe, NHL in NA.

In the same process, current World Championships change to European Championships, yearly games.

IIHF might even decide to play the yearly thing with club teams, like a "Champions League", like in Football. After season, champion of each country would get to play in the tournament. NHL champion could also take part if they wanted to.
 
Last edited:

cg98

Registered User
Oct 10, 2017
2,778
3,667
Olympics easily. Only way the WCoH would work and be a key tournament is if the NHL and IIHF cooperate together.
 

NyQuil

Big F$&*in Q
Jan 5, 2005
95,340
59,233
Ottawa, ON
I would like a combination of Olympics and World Cup, with World Championships pretty much the way they are.

E.g. WC-OG-WC-WCoH

I like the WCs as they are provides a good venue for younger players to participate and get some international experience.

A World Cup could have a limited number of teams (no gimmick teams) but have 3 game series to decide the Finals or some such to distinguish it.

I'd prefer some combination of #1, #2 and #4.
 

garbageteam

Registered User
Jan 7, 2010
1,403
641
A return to best on best Olympics is probably the best for the sport's global presence and publicity. It has worked well (for the fan) in the past and is the most tangible and likely of the options. Just wish they could properly sit together and iron out the differences so that no interruptions in the future will occur again.
 

Urbanskog

Platinum Member
Feb 8, 2014
3,551
765
Helsinki
The only option should be the Olympics. The highest level of hockey on the highest stage.

In terms of viewership, importance and exposure, an NHL World Cup will only reach existing hockey fans. Big frigging deal.
The OG captivates fans from all walks of life all over the globe.
It doesn't even reach existing hockey fans. Did anyone outside Canada watch the latest edition?
 
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93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,898
Toronto
Something that doesn't interupt the middle of the season. So, Winter Olympics are a no go for me.
 

VictorLustig

Registered User
Feb 8, 2012
8,845
2,883
Biggest problem I have with the Olympics are the short preparations teams have. Last time in Sochi they had the players fly across the world, have one practice and then play the next day. Needless to say, there was no flow in the games, boring hockey, lots of great players looked average etc.
 

Xokkeu

Registered User
Apr 5, 2012
6,891
193
Frozen
It doesn't even reach existing hockey fans. Did anyone outside Canada watch the latest edition?

425,000 viewers in America on average. Canada USA did 766,000. 766k would make it one of the best regular season NHL games. 425 is a below average regular season game. USA Canada was the 9th best tv program on that night.
 

lwvs84

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
4,049
2,757
Los Angeles, CA
Summer games would be the best option for a best on best tournament, but playing on ice in summer would just be kind of weird. Keeping the Olympics in the winter games, one thing the NHL could do is keep the schedule running with a lighter schedule (no back-to-back games for any teams, fewer overall games per night). NHL probably wouldn't lose too much money. The teams that are going to lose a lot of players to a tournament like that should make playoffs even if they lose 3 or 4 games over that period of time. It isn't ideal, but summer is the only time you may get best-on-best and Olympics may be the only time players may not decline an invitation in favor of resting.
 

Icedog2735

Registered User
Aug 19, 2006
744
309
Stratford, CT
I chose going back to the Olympics because it seems like the best option to have a medium that draws in a casual fan base. The drawbacks of having a break in the NHL season and being a time zone prisoner to wherever the IOC decides to host the games are negatives though. Two ideas that I have that I would like to see:

1) If the World Cup of Hockey is to continue, have qualifying and hold the group stage in September just as they did the last time around. However, instead of the All Star game that year, the All Star site gets to host the semifinal and final round. It can be a little bit longer of a break perhaps Tuesday-Monday. Host the semifinals on Wednesday as a double header, the NHL skills competition on Thursday, and the World Cup final on Saturday and Sunday, 2 games, non-aggregate scoring, if one team wins both games they are the champion, if the teams win 1 each the game goes to sudden death, 5 on 5 OT until there is a winner.

2) While other international rivalries are big, the US-Canada rivalry captures casual fans. The one time in my 32-years where I spoke to non-hockey people the day after a sporting event and they asked "Did you see the game yesterday?" and they were actually talking about hockey was the 2010 Gold Medal game. I think there is room to establish a US-Canada Ryder Cup style competition that runs every other year so that there is no clash with an Olympics or World Cup. Maybe a best of 5 series where games are spread to markets pinpointed by the league (3 in the US and 2 in Canada and then vice versa next time around).
 

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