In a surprising announcement, Hockey Canada shared that it will not be participating in the 2026 Spengler Cup. The 2026 rendition of the tournament will be the first time since 1983 that Canada has not sent a team to the tournament.
Included in the announcement was a statement from Hockey Canada, saying, “Hockey Canada and the Spengler Cup organizing committee have announced that Canada’s National Men’s Team will not participate in the 2026 Spengler Cup. Hockey Canada’s long-term agreement expired following the 2025 Spengler Cup, and a new agreement to include Team Canada in the 2026 event could not be reached in time.”
There is no word on exactly why an agreement couldn’t be reached between the two sides, but the outcome remains the same. Typically carrying a roster full of AHL talent, Team Canada had been dominant in the tournament for the last three decades, winning 13 Spengler Cups since 1992 and appearing in 20 championship contests.
Additional evening notes:
- Eligible for a contract extension this summer, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was fairly non-committal on a new deal when asked today. According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review, Crosby stated that he is taking a “wait and see” approach regarding a new deal and has not given it much thought. In the midst of their rebuild, Crosby signed a new extension with the Penguins after being followed by extensive trade rumors. At this point, it doesn’t appear there’s much possibility of “The Kid” playing for a new team, and he will continue his career in Pittsburgh as long as he wants.
- According to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, the New York Rangers will not be retaining Jed Ortmeyer this offseason. Ortmeyer, 47, has been the Rangers’ Director of Player Development since the 2017-18 campaign. It’s a relatively obvious change as New York embarks on a retool, as the team has had a notoriously difficult time drafting and developing talent over the last several years.
If Pittsburgh traded Crosby at the deadline 3 years ago, they would have been ahead of the Sharks in their rebuild at this point.
Now his value has fallen to where trading him doesn’t make much sense anyway. He’ll just linger there and continue putting brakes on their rebuild.
There is value in Crosby remaining and being an active mentor for all the kids coming up. Mario did the same for Crosby. I think guys like Kindel are already ahead in their pro development due to Crosbys leadership
You believe that the captain and 74-pt scorer is holding the team back? Wow. Where do you come up with this stuff?
@Dog they teach this style of analytics in college. You get a pair of pink glasses when you graduate i heard
Zero guarantee this Sharks core does any better than the previous one that won nothing.
The Leafs have won nothing.
The Oilers have won nothing.
The Hawks have won nothing.
But, yeah, let’s jettison the second best player ever when he’s playing the best hockey of his career for some late picks.
Yeah elite forwards are useless in this league. Let’s just get some picks that most likely turn into nothing and some young guys who have as of yet proven nothing. Not only that Sid is a legacy player and still best on the pens. You don’t trade a player like him unless he wants to be traded.
So it’s Ortmeyer’s fault that the Rangers youth haven’t exactly flourished in NYC? Hmmmm, and here I thought it was all of the coaches that punished young players for making mistakes while giving the vets a pass for theirs.
He, barring injury, will pass Jagr. Better than even money to get to 2,000.
Can play at an elite level until 42. Could still be a very useful player until 45.
The Tom Brady (sans cheating and being a bad husband and father or an ineffectual owner or an insipid broadcaster) of hockey.