The NHL and NHLPA “continue to move toward” holding a World Cup of Hockey in February 2024, but “there's still nothing official roughly 16 months out from a potential start date,” according to the CP. Owners have “never been enamored with the Olympics for a host of reasons, including the need for a pause to the schedule," but an event put on by the NHL has "been more palatable.” If a World Cup happens in 2024, it would “mark hockey's first best-on-best tournament” since the event was last held in 2016. Golden Knights C Jack Eichel said, “Everyone wants to do it. It's something that fans want to see. I think it's great for our game. We're trying to grow hockey globally, and the Olympics is the biggest thing in the world for a month. The World Cup was a great opportunity as well." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly last month said the league was moving "full speed ahead" on the World Cup, but added that “there are challenges.” Daly: "We have a pretty good handle on what we want the competition to look like, subject to a Russian question." That question “remains a big one.” Russian teams have been banned from participating across international sports since the country's invasion of Ukraine. The NHL has not barred players from Russia, but did “suspend all business ties to the country.” Daly said that should the 2024 edition go ahead, the World Cup “could be held minus a Russian entry” (CP, 10/5).
