If you desperately wanted to see Connor McDavid play with Sidney Crosby, or Patrick Kane with Auston Matthews, you’ll have to wait (if it happens at all). The NHL and NHLPA have announced that they are no longer working toward a World Cup in 2024. The full statement:
Over the last year, the NHL and the NHLPA have been working on plans to conduct the next World Cup of Hockey, the premier international best-on-best hockey tournament, in February 2024. Unfortunately, in the current environment it is not feasible to hold the World Cup of Hockey at that time. We continue to plan for the next World Cup of Hockey, hopefully in February 2025.
Best-on-best international competition hasn’t happened in years, and now that the World Cup is off the table for at least another few years, there may be generational players that we never see together.
McDavid, for instance, has still never represented Canada at a true best-on-best tournament, only suiting up at the World Juniors and World Championship. His appearance in the last World Cup in 2016 was on Team North America – known as the young guns – alongside Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and other superstars that have never seen Olympic competition.
While this decision is disappointing, it is also somewhat expected, especially given the turmoil in the IIHF with regard to Russia at the moment. The invasion of Ukraine led the Russian and Belarusian teams to be banned from several international tournaments, and a World Cup would certainly be difficult to hold without the participation of some NHL superstars from those countries.
In any case, hockey fans will have to wait even longer to see another high-stakes international tournament.
That’s too bad. The Hockey players take these tournaments a lot more seriously than the other sports. They actually put forth a maximum effort and the games were very entertaining. Just one more reason Putin needs to go as this headline should read, ” Putin ruins International Hockey for foreseeable future”.
It’s a tournament meant to replace the all star game and offset Olympic years. And in mid season for some reason. Thanks but no thanks.
F that.
Russia should be banned from the 2024 World Cup (and beyond) even if they surrender today.
“Poor imperialists, their bloodthirsty invasion isn’t going as well as they had hoped, it would be a shame to embarrass their hockey team, too. Let’s just wait. Sorry everyone.”
F that.
Yeah true, their national hockey team is responsible for invading Ukraine.
I don’t get how it is appropriate to just punish every single Russian on the planet as if they’re Putin’s right hand men. There’s a lot of Russians that don’t agree with the war as evidenced by all the protests there this year, but I don’t know what it accomplishes to punish Russians that have nothing to do with it and just want to play hockey and compete.
The sport is hurt by this kind of stuff, just let them play. Doing so does not mean you support the war, it just means we’re able to look at the situation with some nuance and avoid punishing people who did nothing wrong.
Is Canada’s? Ours’? Swedens’? Finlands’?
Somehow during the Cold War we found a way to play the 1980 Olympics and have maybe the greatest hockey triumph ever. But now we can’t do such things. We no longer have grown ups in charge of important matters.
Guessing most grown ups understand the difference between a Cold War (an arms race) and Ukrainians being forced to bury their dead children in their front yards.
The “grown ups” who are mind warped wind up toys who lick Putin’s sack because bow tie boy tells them to…not so much.
You’ve proven yet again what a complete ignoramus you are. It’s embarrassing.
link to en.m.wikipedia.org
Bettman doing a fine job.