NHL will not allow the Stanley Cup to travel to Russia for celebrations

Four players in this Stanley Cup Final might need to make alternate arrangements this summer.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday that the league advised both teams prior to the start of the series that the Stanley Cup will not be allowed to travel to Russia this summer in light of the country’s unprovoked invasion and war in Ukraine.

“We made both clubs aware already with respect to this summer: The Cup isn’t going to Russia or Belarus,” Daly said prior to Game 1.

Three Tampa Bay players are from Russia, including Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Mikhail Sergachev. Valeri Nichushkin is the only Avalanche player to hail from Russia. No players on either team are from Belarus.

The NHL has not determined whether the Stanley Cup will eventually be allowed to return to Russia.

“To the extent that we may owe a Cup trip in the future, that can happen, just like we’ve done with the pandemic, but it’s not happening this summer,” Daly said.

The NHL officially severed all ties with the Russian Federation and the Kontinental Hockey League shortly after the Feb. 24 invasion. That involved a “cessation of communication” between league personnel, the termination of sponsorship partnerships and the shuttering of the league’s Russian-language website and digital enterprises.

However, the NHL has continued to heavily promote its Russian-born stars, including Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin was prominently featured in the NHL’s latest Stanley Cup Final commercial with the “handoff” of the Stanley Cup.

NHL teams are still free to sign Russian free agents and many are in the courting process now with former KHL player Andrey Kuzmenko.

Daly also confirmed that NHL teams are free to select Russian and Belarusian-born prospects in July’s Draft in Montreal.

“Look, they are going to be totally available for selection, just like they are every year,” Daly said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if some may slip in where they’re projected to go just based on the inability to access them, potentially.”