World Cup: I think there is a good possibility that we'll see a new World Cup in 2023

[Voight]

The 2004 World Cup happened because Bettman wasn't planning to return to the Olympics after Salt Lake City and he wanted to reestablish the World Cup as a regular event. Once Vancouver was named the host city for 2010, everyone knew that the NHL would continue participating in the Olympics. The only reason that it wasn't cancelled is that the final was played the day before the collective bargaining agreement expired, and both the league and the union wanted to use event revenues to build up their reserves.

2016 was the same story. Bettman didn't want to go to Pyeongchang and he wanted the World Cup to replace it as the top international hockey event. Its relative lack of success convinced the NHL to revisit Olympic participation.

2006 and 2010 Olympic participation were written into the 2005 CBA... players love the Olympics and wanted to have it in writing. In 2012, they thought the league would act in good faith so they did not put 2014 + 2018 in the CBA.... the NHL decided to be nice and let them go to Sochi but then said no to South Korea.

Hence why last year they put Olympic participation back into the CBA last year.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

2016 was the same story. Bettman didn't want to go to Pyeongchang and he wanted the World Cup to replace it as the top international hockey event. Its relative lack of success convinced the NHL to revisit Olympic participation.

That last bit is incorrect, it was an open secret before it was decided to not go to Korea that the NHL was salivating about the next games in China. The IOC tried to strong arm it saying they wouldn’t be allowed in China if they don’t go to Korea, this was widely reported.

/edit, adding link
Beijing Games could help end NHL/IOC standoff

 

[wetcoast]

The World Cup is what the NHL should be going for anyways as best on best tournament like soccer does.

Although I do understand the reasonings behind wanting hockey to be at the Olympics instead of doing their own WC.

Soccer can get away with brushing off the Olympics because soccer is king, while hockey is such a niche sport it still needs the Olympics to garner true international attention.

Pretty much this and it will also make lots of money which is the real reason the NHL and NHLPA will want to do it.

I also didn't mind the gimmick teams but now teams like Germany and the Slovaks seem to be on an upswing which helps if they want to have 8 teams or 10.

 

[llwyd]

Would there be artificial gimmick teams this time too? I mean, yeah, I can take the left handed, brown eyed Ontarians team and the under 21,5 yrs old German-Swiss-Slovak-Hungarian-Romanian team, if we just get our national team intact, but it would be a cold comfort compared with an actual serious international best-on-best tournament like the Olympics.

 

[Rob]

The previous World Cups have failed to capture an audience in the important American market. Maybe having it in September is the problem? Having a two week break in February might be a better for it’s popularity.

 

[cg98]

The previous World Cups have failed to capture an audience in the important American market. Maybe having it in September is the problem? Having a two week break in February might be a better for it’s popularity.

It's a pretty bad start time, seeing as how the MLB teams are making their final push for their playoffs and the NFL season kicks off. But the NHL marketing team is a joke, and so was their organization of the last tournament.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

A World Cup should be a staple of hockey; I don't understand why they don't do it every four years (like soccer).
Only hold up is possibly compensation for the players I guess, and maybe owners refusing to send their players to play? But all of that can be easily solved with some sort of prize for the winner.

 

[garbageteam]

I did hear it on the radio on Sportsnet, not a complete looney bin station. The "insider" seemed completely confident it was going to happen over the next few years, it's just not being openly discussed due to all the issues with COVID-19.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

I understand it always being in North America when it was the Canada Cup, but honestly, if it’s going to call itself the World Cup then every second iteration should be played in Europe. Otherwise call it the NHL Nations Cup

How about we play it on a floating iceberg in the Atlantic as a homage to global warming? Or maybe
on a detached Antarctic Ice Shelf?

What a story baby!!!

 

[KillerMillerTime]

After the pathetic joke teams of 2016, the sabotaging of Team USA, and the irrelevant Canada-Europe final, I simply don't trust the NHL to organize such an event.

Team USA did a good job on its own sabotaging its team selecting Abdelkader and Dubinsky...lol.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

No, owners don't want to risk injury to their best/most valuable players in a meaningless tournament. Last world cup attempts failed to generate the interest/excitement to justify this risk imo and I don't think owners will think anything will be different this time.

Screw the NHL. I say form a World National Team League made up of 8 Canadian and 6 US, 6 Russian,
6 Sweden, 4 Finnish 4 Czech 2 Slovak, 2 German, 2 Denmark. All teams with players representing their countries. Can still have trades between in country teams. Yeah baby!!!

 

[KillerMillerTime]

It's a pretty bad start time, seeing as how the MLB teams are making their final push for their playoffs and the NFL season kicks off. But the NHL marketing team is a joke, and so was their organization of the last tournament.

Play The World Cup in December. Shut the NHL down for 2 weeks. Play the final outdoors on 12\23. What a holiday atmosphere. Have TSO do the National Anthems. Restart NHL 12\26.

 

[Hanji]

Please no.

I'd rather have an Olympic cash grab than an NHL one. At least with the olympics it ensures people will pay attention to it.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I think there was recent chatter that the NHL learned it's lessons with the last World Cup and it would be "legit" teams only:

* Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark

Keep it straight and it could be a great tournament.

 

[vancityluongo]

It doesn't need to be a massively long tournament. 8 (or at most, 10) teams, seeding round of three games, go straight into the quarterfinal.

6 games at most, have it overlap with the pre-season. Most players in the tournament have their roster positions locked down anyways.

I also don't see why they couldn't pull it off for September 2022. Have a bubble ready at a non-NHL city with a rink - Quebec City or Atlanta for example would be rocking.

 

[Puck Dogg]

I don't think they would be having World Cup right after Olympic year. The future of the World Cup in general seems bleak.

 

[Statsy]

I don't think they would be having World Cup right after Olympic year. The future of the World Cup in general seems bleak.

All these issues with the Olympics make a World Cup a lot MORE likely. not less. This has been a good event in the past and it can be again. Every four years, opposite the Olympics, with no gimmick teams (NHL said that was a one-time thing anyway) and you can return this to the event it once was.

 

[violaswallet]

I’d like to see it in Florida with games in Tampa and Sunrise. Have eight teams with four based in city. Have title in one city

 

[Jahara]

Would there be artificial gimmick teams this time too? I mean, yeah, I can take the left handed, brown eyed Ontarians team and the under 21,5 yrs old German-Swiss-Slovak-Hungarian-Romanian team, if we just get our national team intact, but it would be a cold comfort compared with an actual serious international best-on-best tournament like the Olympics.

Yes, we have heard that complaining about the mixed teams 10 000 times now. Having a Team Europe is more fun than seeing Germany again being beaten with 5 goals every game.

How it should be is a Olympic tournament with NHL players every fourth year AND a World Cup with
NHL players every fourth year.
Play the Olympics with 12 teams on big surface and international rules just like it is. And play the World Cup on small surface with NHL rules. It could be held in one (or maybe two) city like the last time or with games around the world like before. But please go back to the 6 team-format with the round-robin. The best teams must play against each other and not waste games against minnows. Top 4 goes through and soon we will have a winner.

Easy.

 

[Gold Standard]

I think there was recent chatter that the NHL learned it's lessons with the last World Cup and it would be "legit" teams only:

* Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark

Keep it straight and it could be a great tournament.

good. 10 teams is ideal. structure it just like the WJHC. play it mid season (Feb) would be ideal, but I can live with September. and alternate between NA and Europe. and we're good to go.

 

[Exarz]

The World Championship has been in North America once in the last century, so....

Yeah, what a fair comparison with one event you apply to host (something Canada has not done since last time) and one organized by a league focusing on its main market.

I don't remember how the discussion regarding travel was in 2004, but a similar split in hosting the round robin and quarter final games feels like a fair share if they were to host the World Cup again.

 

[SwedishFire]

I think there was recent chatter that the NHL learned it's lessons with the last World Cup and it would be "legit" teams only:

* Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark

Keep it straight and it could be a great tournament.

Good they learned, but if it wasnt McDavid, the NA team wouldnt exist. I mean, his coaches and his GM where that teams coach and GM...

It was a way to promote him and the leagues new stars (McDavid, Matthews).

I think Denmark deserves go get the nod. I bet they would beat even Slovakia. Denmark has really rasied their game.

There was so many who thaught Norway would be a top 8. But they has really fallen off the map.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Good they learned, but if it wasnt McDavid, the NA team wouldnt exist. I mean, his coaches and his GM where that teams coach and GM...

It was a way to promote him and the leagues new stars (McDavid, Matthews).

I think Denmark deserves go get the nod. I bet they would beat even Slovakia. Denmark has really rasied their game.

There was so many who thaught Norway would be a top 8. But they has really fallen off the map.

People claim the NHL is pro-American to a fault and maybe it is in a lot of ways but the Young Guns team wasn't one of them. We lost out on several players who while very young at the time would have made and contributed to the U.S. team.

 

[SwedishFire]

People claim the NHL is pro-American to a fault and maybe it is in a lot of ways but the Young Guns team wasn't one of them. We lost out on several players who while very young at the time would have made and contributed to the U.S. team.

Marketing NHLs new profiles, while Mcdavid had some magnetizing hype.
NHL had much to win.

 

[member 305909]

The Canada-cup worked well because there were only six teams. They all played against each other, which gave a real picture of the hierarchy.

The hockey-world hasn't really gone forward very much. They ruin the best on best tournaments by including too many teams.