The World Cup of Hockey could be returning in 2016, and with it, some significant changes.
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Since the Sochi Winter Games ended back in February, there has been much talk about the NHL bringing back the World Cup of Hockey. The World Cup of Hockey was last held back in 2004, where eight countries, which consisted of Canada, United States, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany, participated in the tournament.
Whether the league is interested in bringing back the tournament to replace NHL participation in the Olympic Games is yet to be seen. There has been talk even leading up to the Sochi games that the NHL may not send its players to play in the games. I guess they’re okay with their players tearing their ACL’s in the off-season during the World Cup, as long as it’s not during the season at the Olympics. But that’s none of my business.
However, if the World Cup does come back, there are some big expected changes coming to the tournament. The first significant change concerns the teams that play in the tournament. There will be eight teams participating. The big six hockey countries – or so they call them – which include Canada, Sweden, United States, Russia, Finland and Czech Republic will of course participate. The last two teams will be different.
The league is still deciding exactly what to do for the last two teams, but one on of the teams is likely to consist of an All-Star team that consists of players from the remaining European countries (Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Switzerland, etc.). What the last team will consist of is still yet to be determined, but one rumor is to have a team consisting of the best young prospects. Not sure exactly how that last one fits the international theme that this tournament is supposed to be though.
“We control the time of the games and it’s in North America for prime-time viewing and all of those things,” said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPA’s special assistant to Don Fehr. “We can accommodate the guys much better than traveling around the world in the middle of the season.”
Another change to the tournament will be the location. In 2004, the tournament had games played in multiple different locations. In 2016, the tournament will be held solely in Toronto. There were discussions of having some games held in Montreal, but it seems that idea has been nixed.
The playing format will be a round robin to determine seeding, followed by a single elimination playoffs, and ending with a best-of-three series for the final.
There is obvious interest by the NHL to bring the World Cup of Hockey back solely on the revenue it would bring in. It is being reported that the tournament could bring in over $100 million in revenue to the League, owners and players.
Also, unlike the Olympics, the NHL has the advantage of determining the times games are played for the World Cup. “We control the time of the games and it’s in North America for prime-time viewing and all of those things,” said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPA’s special assistant to Don Fehr. “We can accommodate the guys much better than traveling around the world in the middle of the season.”
It is yet to be seen how these changes will work out, but I think all hockey fans would love to see this tournament back.
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