The goal of the NHL is to return the real top tournaments of national team hockey to the hockey calendar. However, the issue of Russia is a big problem.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is waiting for the IOC’s decision on the Russian athletes. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
The hockey world’s long-awaited national team tournament for the best players received promising news on Wednesday at the NHL’s media conference in Stockholm.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that the league plans to return to the Winter Olympics in 2026 at the Milan Games.
The World Cup tournament organized by the NHL should also be returned to the puck calendar with a regular rhythm every four years.
The goal of the NHL and the players’ association NHLPA is to organize an international event in February 2025.
– So we would be organizing an international tournament in 2025, Olympic participation in 2026, World Cup in 2028, Olympic participation in 2030, World Cup in 2032 and so on. That’s the goal, Daly said.
At this point, we can only guess at the format of the tournament that will be held in 2025.
– I don’t know exactly what form it would take. The goal is to organize an international event in some form. We are working on it with the players’ association, Daly opened.
Just a year ago, the NHL’s goal was to organize the World Cup in February 2024, but in November the goal was moved to February 2025. Now, at the relevant time, it is therefore necessary to organize an event other than the World Cup.
A long-term problem
Seven years have already passed since the last national team tournament for the best players. After the fall 2016 World Cup, the best possible national teams have been just a beautiful dream.
The NHL withdrew from both the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, and plans to host the World Cup have been postponed several times.
The lack of a real top tournament in men’s national team hockey has started to annoy hockey fans around the world.
The question of Russia’s right to participate has become a big problem overall.
Both the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have so far shelved Russia’s sanction for the attack on Ukraine.
However, the attitude towards Russia in the North American NHL is not as strong as in the international sports federations operating in Europe.
– We have recently held a meeting with the IIHF and the IOC regarding the 2026 Olympic participation and the organization of the World Cup.
– Our challenge remains the short-term political realities and what kind of position Russia is in both the tournament we organize and the Olympics, Daly commented.
The NHL follows the IOC’s decision
The participation of Russians in the NHL is an important issue, because many of the superstars in the series are Russian. This, in turn, affects the marketing of top tournaments.
Daly said that the NHL is especially monitoring the IOC’s decision on the possible acceptance of Russian athletes to next year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.
– The IOC has made public statements that signal to me a strong desire to include Russian athletes in some way.
– As far as the IIHF is concerned, it is likely that they will follow the solution that the IOC sees as acceptable, Daly estimates.
The deputy commissioner also said that it is not yet possible to give exact dates for official decision schedules.