NHL announces plans for World Cup of Hockey in 2024
One of the greatest tournaments in hockey is poised for a comeback.
The NHL announced on Wednesday that the league and the NHLPA are expecting the World Cup of Hockey to return in 2024.
The NHL and NHLPA are expecting the World Cup of Hockey to return in 2024.https://t.co/6H1rnuptRL
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 24, 2022
"We're moving full steam ahead and that means we're continuing to have regular meetings," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday while in Paris for the NHL's European Player Media Tour.
The 2024 tournament plan to have games in North America and Europe, and will feature at least eight national teams, although there are talks about including two more countries, according to Daly. The league is targeting a 17-day window in February 2024 to hold the event, likely putting a pause on the NHL's regular season.
Daly says they are still looking into the markets that will host games, which include a number of European cities.
"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," he said. "I think that short list would universally encompass more traditional hockey markets."
Daly also added that he is unsure whether Russia will be allowed to participate in the event, with the NHL suspending all business relationships with the nation since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February. The International Ice Hockey Federation has also mandated that Russia be suspended from all international competitions until further notice.
The last World Cup of Hockey came in 2016 and was an instant success, with fans enjoying the highly-skilled, fast-paced games on display in Toronto. Canada took home the ultimate prize in a best-of-three final mini-series against Team Europe, but the true highlight of the tournament had to be Team North America, which united the top under-23 talent in the continent. Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and more put on a show throughout the event and contributed plenty of highlights to one of the most electrifying hockey tournaments we've ever seen.
The NHL also held the tournament in 2004 and 1996.
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