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World Cup

Bettman Presser Notes: World Cup, Senators, Relocation, Nichushkin, Front Office

June 3, 2023 at 6:50 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 11 Comments

Before the start of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights, Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, and Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daly, gave their annual version of hockey’s “State of the Union” address to the media. The two spoke at length about a plethora of topics, and one of the more intriguing tidbits was that the NHL is looking into bringing back the World Cup of Hockey (Tweet Link).

In 1996, what was formerly known as the Canada Cup, the World Cup of Hockey was born, and it took place at the then-new Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and also the then-new Bell Centre in Montreal. The United States was the eventual champion, beating Canada in three games.

The tournament took a short break, continuing again in 2004, where Canada became the eventual winner against Finland. The last time the tournament was held was back in 2016 when Canada beat the European team in two games.

In the 2016 rendition, the World Cup of Hockey featured new teams such as Europe and North America. The European team featured countries that were not represented by their own national teams, including players from countries such as Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, etc. The North American, which ended up being one of the most fun teams to watch during the tournament, featured players from Canada and the United States that were under the age of 23.

Other notes:

  • As the Ottawa Senators look to find a new owner, Bettman states that the process could still take a couple more weeks (Tweet Link). The last time the Senators went through a sale was back in 2003 when the late Eugene Melnyk purchased the team for a reported sum of $92MM. Melnyk oversaw the Senators team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017. Having passed in the spring of 2022, the team residing in Canada’s capital should have a new owner by the end of the month.
  • After the announcement that the city of Tempe would not be housing the Arizona Coyotes, rumors immediately sprung about a possible relocation. In the press conference, Bettman reported that Ryan Smith, the current owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, has expressed interest in relocating the Coyotes to Salt Lake City (Tweet Link). Although this is considerable news, especially coming from the Commissioner, Bettman did express a strong desire for the Coyotes to remain in Arizona and says that the NHL is helping the franchise find locations in Phoenix.
  • Early in the 2023 NHL Playoffs, it was reported that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche would be sent home for the remainder of the playoffs. Asked about this during their press conference, especially in light of the police body came footage being released, Daly reports that Nichushkin is not under investigation, and is free to play during the 2023-24 NHL season (Tweet Link). Although it was never reported otherwise, it is positive news for Colorado, after recently receiving news that captain Gabriel Landeskog would miss the entirety of next season.
  • As eliminated teams are looking to fill both General Manager and head coach vacancies, it appears that two names could be officially coming to the market. Bettman reports that longtime NHL head coach, Joel Quenneville, and former General Manager, Stan Bowman, have both requested interviews to be reinstated in the league (Tweet Link). Both have been prohibited from working in the NHL ever since the sexual assault exposure from former player, Kyle Beach, came out during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

Arizona Coyotes| Colorado Avalanche| Joel Quenneville| Ottawa Senators| Stan Bowman Bill Daly| Gary Bettman| Valeri Nichushkin| World Cup

11 comments

Latest From Insider Trading: Walsh’s Plans For NHLPA

March 30, 2023 at 7:12 pm CDT | by Ken MacMillan 2 Comments

In the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston focused on the priorities for new NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh. Though he just took on the job as the leader of the player’s union last month, he has plenty of issues to deal with and it sounds like he is already working on a few of them. LeBrun reported Walsh wants to have greater communication between the players and the union and not just when negotiating new collective bargaining agreements. He has already begun reaching out to players to get feedback on what they think of the current playoff format.

Johnston mentioned Walsh is also willing to discuss negotiating with the league to possibly try and have the salary cap move up more than the projected $1MM this offseason. However, the players still owe a debt to the owners so it is possible they are more comfortable dealing with a modest raise in the salary cap ahead of 2023-24 before a bigger leap is made the following season. This would decrease the likelihood that escrow also rises with the cap in 2024-25.

LeBrun reported that Walsh feels the Arizona Coyotes having NHL players play in a college stadium is a situation that needs to be addressed. There is a vote coming up in May when citizens of Tempe will vote on whether or not to go ahead with plans to build a new arena in the near future. If they don’t go ahead with it, it could be bad news for the Coyotes.

Johnston also said Walsh is eager to start talks about the next World Cup and has his eye on February 2025 for that event. The last time hockey players took part in a best-on-best event was the World Cup in 2016. Walsh apparently is willing to start talking about the next one, even with Russia’s participation unlikely at this point.

NHL| NHLPA Salary Cap| World Cup

2 comments

NHL Will Not Hold World Cup In 2024

November 11, 2022 at 1:35 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 10 Comments

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.

NHLPA World Cup

10 comments

NHL, NHLPA Expect World Cup Of Hockey Return In 2024

August 24, 2022 at 11:10 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

Speaking Wednesday during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF are “moving full steam ahead” and “continuing to have regular meetings” regarding the return of the World Cup of Hockey tournament in February of 2024.

And, as reported earlier this year, more concrete details about the tournament are beginning to emerge from Daly and the aforementioned planning sessions. According to Daly, the NHL and NHLPA are in the process of narrowing down host cities for the tournament, including select European cities for preliminary and qualification games.

We still want to play one pool in Europe, a preliminary round pool in Europe and a preliminary round pool in North America and move the semifinals and the final to a different city in North America likely. I think that short list would universally encompass more traditional hockey markets.

The tournament is expected to take place over a 17-day period in February, including a day on the front and back end of gameplay for travel purposes. Considering the in-season nature of the tournament, there will be little in terms of practice time for the assembled national teams.

Daly also revealed that there are ongoing discussions about expanding the tournament field from eight teams to 10, although any qualification stage to narrow down the field back to eight would take place during the tournament given the compressed schedule.

Of obvious note is the potential participation of Russia in this tournament, which Daly said today is still uncertain.

This would be the first best-on-best hockey tournament of its kind since the last time the World Cup was held in 2016. The last Winter Olympics to feature NHL talent was the 2014 edition in Sochi, Russia. All in all, it would be the fourth edition of the World Cup, as it was previously held in 1996 and 2004.

IIHF| NHL| NHLPA Bill Daly| World Cup

4 comments

League Notes: World Cup, Combine, Trade Lists

March 26, 2022 at 9:47 am CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Although the trade deadline has passed and the draft and free agency are still months away, it hasn’t stopped TSN’s best from breaking significant news. In the latest “Insider Trading” segment, the group had plenty to say about upcoming events and changes for the NHL. Though down the road quite a ways, Darren Dreger reports that there could soon be a more concrete plan for the proposed 2024 and 2028 World Cups of Hockey. The NHL, NHLPA, IIHF, and individual national federations are meeting in Paris this week to discuss how the NHL-operated international tournament could look. One major issue at hand is the possibility of a play-in tournament to determine the eight participants in each World Cup. There are many questions as to who might automatically qualify for the World Cup versus who might take part in the play-in, but Dreger at least notes that the play-ins would be held during the summer prior to the tournament, which could mean August 2023 would mark the start of the selection process.

Dreger does not believe that Canada and the United States would be taking part in play-ins (and does not make mention of Team North America, a novel and entertaining concept from the 2016 World Cup but one that appears to be dead all the same). Whether all European nations or just those lower on the IIHF rankings would participate in play-ins remains to be seen, as does the viability of a Russian entry given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and resulting IIHF sanctions. The most recent IIHF rankings have Finland and Russia among the top four hockey countries in the world with Canada and the U.S., with Germany, Czechia, Sweden, and Switzerland rounding out the top eight. The question becomes how many of these nations should earn automatic bids to the World Cup and how many spots should otherwise stay open for play-in winners. Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, and Denmark would certainly like a fair shot at qualification, especially given that each has NHL representation, while it might also be entertaining to see an expanded play-in field featuring some less established hockey countries like France and Great Britain, both of whom are currently within the top 16 globally. Dreger does not note the possibility of a return of Team Europe, encompassing players from non-qualifying nations, but that concept is likely to go the way of Team North America.  There is still plenty to figure out, but this week’s meetings in Paris could be a very productive step toward clarifying the return of the World Cup.

  • Dreger adds that another NHL-sponsored event making its return is the NHL Draft Combine. After being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the league will again host the pre-draft evaluation event this year, returning to Buffalo. The combine will be held from May 29 to June 4, giving teams plenty of time to assess results before the 2022 NHL Draft on July 7-8. As usual, the NHL playoffs will still be ongoing during the combine, but active teams can manage. More concerning though is that the CHL playoffs will also still be underway, which has not typically been the case. Due to COVID delays to the regular season schedule, the OHL and WHL will not kick off their postseasons until late April while the QMJHL will not get started until early May, making crossover with the combine a month later impossible to avoid. Dreger notes that the NHL wanted to hold an in-person combine at all costs in an effort to get the draft process back to normal, even if that meant some prospects could not participate. The CHL leagues will have to determine for themselves whether they will allow players to leave their teams or potentially pause postseason action during the combine. Scheduling flexibility is limited with the Memorial Cup dates already set for June 20-29. However, the junior leagues and teams have stock in the draft success of their players and know that those top prospects still playing and unable to attend the combine could be put them at a disadvantage.
  • As the ripples of the Evgenii Dadonov saga continue to be felt far beyond Las Vegas and Anaheim, Pierre LeBrun reports that changes to how trade lists are documented appear likely. As the NHL GM’s prepare to meet this week, with the Dadonov fiasco still fresh in their minds, it is not only LTIR management that they will discuss. LeBrun notes that they will also recommend that the complete terms of trade protection be shared with the NHL Central Registry and the NHLPA. Currently, only teams and player agents know the full contents of trade and no-trade lists and are the only ones monitoring when and if those lists are submitted. Seeing how well that worked out in Dadonov’s case, having extra eyes on that process from both the team and player side only serves to benefit the entire process. Though there is concern about a higher likelihood of these lists becoming public, this is outweighed by the procedural positives of trade protection.

CHL| Coronavirus| IIHF| NHL| NHLPA| OHL| Prospects| QMJHL| Schedule| WHL Memorial Cup| World Cup

3 comments

Snapshots: World Cup, Top Prospects, Memorial Cup

February 4, 2022 at 4:38 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

When the NHL first appeared headed to the 2022 Olympic Games, it signaled what would have been the first best-on-best action since the 2016 World Cup. Even that event came with the caveat of Team North America, a young-guns squad that kept some top talent off their respective countries. Connor McDavid, for instance, has still never worn a Canada sweater at a top-tier international event and hasn’t even taken part in the World Championship since 2018.

Perhaps there is reason to believe that is going to change, as Pierre LeBrun explained on TSN’s Insider Trading that the NHL and NHLPA have made progress on a potential 2024 World Cup of Hockey. There is also surprising support for it to be held partway through the 2023-24 season, something that had previously been fought against by the owners. This tournament would be held in addition to NHL participation in the 2026 Olympics in Italy, meaning hockey fans could be finally getting a chance to see best-on-best action in the coming years.

  • Speaking of best-on-best, the CHL prospects game was originally scheduled to take place a few days ago has been rescheduled to March 23 in Kitchener, according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic. The event pits the best draft-eligible players in the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL against each other and provides a great scouting opportunity for NHL executives. The Ontario government is currently scheduled to lift all capacity restrictions on indoor events on March 14, which would potentially allow a full building for the showcase.
  • Another marquee scouting event on the calendar is the Memorial Cup tournament, which hasn’t been held since 2019 because of the pandemic. This year’s event is scheduled to be held in Saint John, with the Sea Dogs automatically entered as the host team. Darren Dreger of TSN adds that because of all the postponements that have happened in the CHL this season, the Memorial Cup is going to be pushed into June.

CHL| Prospects| Snapshots Memorial Cup| World Cup

2 comments

NHL Making Progress On Olympic Participation

May 25, 2021 at 10:14 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

The 2022 Olympic Winter Games are coming quickly and there is no definitive answer yet on whether the NHL will participate. That could be changing soon, as hockey insider Frank Seravalli reports that the league has received a verbal commitment from the IOC to fund travel and insurance, one of the biggest sticking points in previous negotiations. Seravalli notes there is still a lot of work to be done, including negotiating whether the NHL will be allowed to use game footage and other promotional material, something the Olympic committee has long been against.

Progress is progress though and it will be welcome news to hockey fans all over the world. Best-on-best hockey always creates a memorable event, whether at the Olympics or World Cup, and the lack of NHL participation in the 2018 Games robbed some of a chance to compete for their country. Players like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid who are now five and six years into their NHL careers still haven’t had a chance to represent their nations on the Olympic stage.

The 2022 Games are scheduled to begin on February 4, 2022, meaning there would need to be a stoppage to the NHL schedule while the league’s best go to Beijing. In 2014, the last time the NHL participated, Canada took home the gold in a 3-0 win over Sweden. The U.S. finished off the podium entirely, downed in the bronze medal game by tournament MVP Teemu Selanne of Finland.

In 2018, without the NHL involved, the Olympic Athletes from Russia took home gold, defeating Germany in the gold medal match. That Russian team included several former NHL talents like Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk along with several names who would make their debuts in the coming years, like Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, and Kirill Kaprizov.

Olympics| Schedule| Teemu Selanne World Cup

3 comments

Roberto Luongo Named GM Of Team Canada

April 20, 2021 at 10:21 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

After a year where almost every international hockey event was canceled, things are getting back to normal soon. The IIHF World Championships are scheduled for May 21 – June 6 in Riga, Latvia, where teams including many playoff-eliminated NHL players will represent their respective countries. Canada has announced its management team for the event today, with an interesting name at the top.

Roberto Luongo has been named general manager, with Shane Doan and Scott Salmond assisting him as part of the management group. Both Luongo and Salmond are part of the Olympic management group as well for Canada, meaning this is something of a test run for the bigger event. Tom Renney, CEO of Hockey Canada, released a statement explaining the decision:

Hockey Canada is excited to have Roberto lead our management group at the IIHF World Championship this year, and to continue to work with our entire Olympic management team as we continue to prepare for the 2022 Olympics. We are also fortunate to have Shane and Scott contribute as assistant general managers; both individuals bring a wealth of experience to Canada’s National Men’s Team. Roberto, Shane and Scott bring a strong combination of NHL and international experience, both on and off the ice, and they will complement each other as we work towards building a team that can compete for a gold medal.

Luongo certainly brings international experience. The former goaltender competed at two World Juniors, four World Championships, three Olympic Games and a World Cup over his long, exceptional career. He’ll now have to do his best work off the ice, selecting and convincing the best available players to compete in the spring tournament.

IIHF| NHL| Olympics| Players| Schedule| Team Canada Team Canada| World Championships| World Cup| World Juniors

3 comments

Potential 2021 World Cup Of Hockey Cancelled

December 10, 2019 at 1:46 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 13 Comments

The NHL had been hoping to pull off another World Cup of Hockey in February of 2021, but commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters today including Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that the idea is now dead. The league will hold an All-Star game instead, though Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic notes that it could potentially be in the style of an international competition of some sort. The last World Cup was held in 2016 and was considered a success by many, with the youthful Team North America and a Ralph Krueger-led Team Europe both connecting with fans across the league.

With the NHL pulling out of the last Winter Olympics, players and fans voiced their displeasure regarding the lack of a real best-on-best tournament. The IIHF World Championship only includes part of the NHL as many teams are still in the playoffs. The World Cup did represent a best-on-best format, however there were obviously some logistical issues that needed to be solved. For one, having it just before the season began risked injury for players, something Matt Murray experienced first hand. Murray suffered a broken hand in the tournament and missed the first part of the 2016-17 season, just a few months after winning his first Stanley Cup.

Because the league still very much intends on having a World Cup at some point, this news will bring up the question of participation in the next Olympics once again. The players have expressed that they want to go, but the league hasn’t changed their official stance on participation. Because the Olympics are not a league-run entity, the NHL feels as though the disruption to the regular season is too great. The World Cup, a joint effort between the NHL and NHLPA, would not be considered so. The next Winter Games are scheduled for February, 2022 in Beijing, China.

For now, we’ll have to wait to see what happens next for the World Cup and whether or not Team North America and Team Europe are one-time memories.

Uncategorized Gary Bettman| World Cup

13 comments

Morning Notes: CBA, Mayotte, Aho

August 16, 2019 at 10:49 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

This September, the NHL and NHLPA will both have the ability to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CBA would still run for the 2019-20 season, but would expire afterwards and threaten a work stoppage in 2020. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports however, there is still optimism between both sides in the talks they’ve had at this point. The agreement expires normally in 2022, but could be extended if the two sides reach an agreement.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly also told Johnston that there are tentative plans to hold the next World Cup of Hockey in February of 2021, an event that would replace the in-season All-Star game. The last World Cup was held in September of 2016, but resulted in several players suffering injuries just before the regular season began.

  • Kris Mayotte has left Providence College to join the University of Michigan coaching staff as an assistant under Mel Pearson. The 36-year old former minor league goaltender worked closely with Hayden Hawkey over the last several years in net for the Friars, and was an assistant coach on two USA Hockey World Junior teams. Though his appointment at Michigan may technically be a step backwards in title—he was an associate head coach last season with Providence—it will put his name even further up the coaching ladder. Mayotte is a rising name in the field that will likely be considered before long for an opportunity at the professional hockey level.
  • Sebastian Aho spoke with reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com at the European Player Media Tour this week and explained that his entire plan this offseason was to get a contract done before training camp started. That’s why the young Carolina Hurricanes forward signed an offer sheet, giving him a way to guarantee that everything would be settled ahead of time. With a dozen other high profile restricted free agents still unsigned, Aho explained that he’s even happier with his decision now and glad to have remained with the Hurricanes.

Carolina Hurricanes| CBA| NHLPA Bill Daly| Sebastian Aho| World Cup

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