NHL general managers are convening in Palm Beach, Florida for a week of GM meetings beginning on Monday. A top agenda item will be preparing the announcement for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The tournament has been held three times between 1996 and 2016. It was most recently held from September 17 to September 29, 2016, in Toronto. The 2028 iteration of the tournament was originally announced in February 2025.
Despite claims that the tournament will move forward without IIHF involvement, the NHL has announced that they are partnering with the international body to help ensure players from outside the NHL can be made available per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.
The league made the official announcement at 12:30 P.M. ET on Monday. In it, Calgary and Edmonton, Canada, and Prague, Czechia, were revealed as the hosts cities. The event will take place in February, 2028 – in the middle of the 2027-28 season. Prague and Calgary will each host half of the round robin section of the tournament, while Edmonton will host the semi-finals and finals.
Further, the NHL announced that the tournament will use NHL rules rather than international rules per LeBrun. Most notably, that will mean that overtime periods are five-on-five, rather than three-on-three.
The last iteration of the tournament brought together six countries – America, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Czechia – as well as two specialized teams, one featuring talent from other European countries and another featuring the top U24 players in America and Canada. The resulting Team North America brought together many NHL superstars well ahead of their prime, including Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Aaron Ekblad, Nathan MacKinnon, and more.
Team North America posted a 2-1-0 record and scored an 11-to-eight goal-differential – but ultimately lost out to Russia’s fewer goals-against (five) in the standings. Russia lost to Team Canada in the first round of the knockout stage, while Team Europe beat Sweden on the other side. Canada would go on to win the tournament, proudly led by leading scorer Sidney Crosby. Alongside Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand, and Carey Price – Crosby was able to lead Canada to a win over Europe’s Mats Zuccarello, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Leon Draisaitl.
The next iteration of the World Cup of Hockey should similarly bring together world class talent in a best-on-best competition in the years leading up to the 2030 Winter Olympics. One questoin the NHL will need to be prepared to answer is if, and where, Russian talent will fit into the conversation. The country has been, and continues to be, excluded from all IIHF competition dating back to 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The NHL will not have to abide by the IIHF’s decision but has previously said that Russia is not expected to be invited to the event, however the NHL did not confirm this in their press conference following the official announcement.
If the NHL chooses to bolster the number of contending teams with another Team Europe or Team North America will also be closely followed. The league has no shortage of young talent breaking through – with stars like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer even making their case for league-best titles.
Just go with national teams – none of that “North America” nonsense. I’d invite Russia, too. If Israel can play in the WBC … I digress.
& if Iran can play in the World Cup, right.
Comparing Israel to Russia and Iran…..Propaganda has infected your mind
The pot calling the kettle black, alright Useful Idiot
I will never understand this. The international competition has been such amazing hockey for this sport. The Four Nations was a huge success and just look at how the Olympics went. It’s shooting yourself in the foot to have so many Russian players not available to play. And it sucks as a hockey fan that there are players who essentially will go their whole career having never had the chance to play on that stage. Wanting to see Ovechkin, Kucherov, Vasilevskiy, Malkin, Michkov, Shesterkin, Sorokin, Demidov, etc play doesn’t mean you are endorsing or condoning anything.
Yay!!!! Another MEANINGLESS EXHIBITION!!!!
You go wilf!
this guy HATES fun
Ovie will be 43 when this is played… doubt he’s going to suit up.
I see no need for this tournament the regular & playoffs season is long enough. I can live with the Olympics but no more meaningless tournaments. The players involved play enough hockey only to have them subjected to serious injuries – hello Sidney Crosby.
This tournament is generally held pre-season as the article suggests. Only helps the players get into better shape for regular season sooner if anything.
But I am also for the players playing less meaningful games period.
Honestly, if you keep doing best-on-best at the rate the NHL is wanting to do it, eventually, viewers are not going to care about it anymore because it won’t be anything special. What made it intriguing the last 2 times is because 4 Nations was the first best-on-best in over a decade. With the Olympics, it was the first time in over a decade that NHL players were involved. The only thing that will add intrigue to the World Cup of Hockey, is if Russian players are involved. But if not, hold off on best-on-best until the Olympics then.
Personally, I’ve had a enough best-on-best pointless exhibitions for a while.
Someone wins the Stanley Cup every year and its still special and it will he when itll happen again, this year. Best on best will always be intriguing because its the best on best. Thats why we watch professional athletes to begin with. You were already asking for the olympics to be over mid way through the tourney though, so its not surprising youre against awesome hockey.
Hoping it’s before the season starts if at all. The condensed schedule has been terrible imo. & We’ll see another one in 2030.
Ugh, this is starting to sound like soccer: owners layering tournament after tournament chasing the almighty dollar, top players expected to play more and more often, and burnout all around.
Its actually up to the players. If they want to play in the tournament or not. Not up to the league or their teams. At this point players might say “we got the Olympics, no thanks” and I think most fans would appreciate that as well.
It’s up to the players only in theory. In practice, they have no choice. Anyone who refuses to play for their country will be crucified.
Yeah. A McDavid sits it out, they’ll hear the screaming in Mexico.
Please, no gimmick teams. Not too much to ask.