It’s the NHL. If something is good, they’re going to keep doing it again and again. First it was outdoor hockey, and now, it’s international hockey competitions. First it was the 4 Nations Face-Off, then it was the Olympics. Now, they’re bringing back the World Cup. Last played in 2016 (RIP Team North America, you were too beautiful to live), it is now scheduled to return in 2028. The league announced that eight teams will compete in three different cities in February of 2028.
All of the details aren’t confirmed yet, but it appears the eight teams will be split into two groups of four. One group will compete in Prague and the other in Calgary. The team that finishes first in each group during round-robin play will get an automatic berth in the semi-final. The second and third place teams will an elimination game with the winners joining the top seeds for the semi-finals and finals in Edmonton. The fourth place teams will feel shame.
The countries selected to compete have yet to be determined, and it appears the league isn’t following IIHF regulations, so that means there is a chance Russia could compete even if they are still banned from international competition.
With the competition set to get underway in 2028, it sets the league on an every-two-years cycle for a large international tournament. The plan is have the World Cup, a year off, then the Olympics. Wash, rinse, repeat.
After having a league-high number of players named to Olympic teams, it will be interesting to see how many Lightning players don their country’s uniforms in two years.
Other Hockey News
Lightning slowly – slowly -finding their process [Lightning Insider]
The last couple of games have shown some glimpses of the pre-break Lightning, but they’ve yet to string it together for 60 minutes. They aren’t panicking, but there is an awareness among the players that they have to start getting it together sooner rather than later.
How do the Lightning find their footing as they head West? [Tampa Bay Times]
Eduardo Encina echos the sentiment, declaring that it’s time for the Lightning to get into a playoff mindset. Their spot in the second season isn’t guaranteed, so it’s time to get some desperation back in their game and picking up points.
Lightnings slump shouldn’t be cause for concern…yet [Daily FaceOff]
Even the national media is getting in on the trend. Yay.
Connor McDavid calls on NHL to audit its suspension process [ESPN]
What he said wasn’t that shocking. After all, simply stating that if everyone is unhappy when a suspension comes down from the league so maybe the process needs to be looked at isn’t exactly a hot take. However, since it was the league’s best player saying it, McDavid’s comments have an entire news cycle to themselves.
Controversial hit heats up GM meetings, but don’t expect action [The Athletic]
Pierre LeBrun points out a major flaw in the “NHL needs to fix the discipline problem!” argument – the league can’t really do anything without the approval of the NHLPA. Will the union be willing to allow longer and more financially significant punishments to be doled out for these types of hits laid out by Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba?
