NHL will not hold World Cup of Hockey in 2024, hoping for 2025

The NHL and NHLPA announced on Friday that they will no longer pursue a World Cup of Hockey for February 2024 because it is not feasible "in the current environment."

The two sides are hopeful the tournament can be held at some point in 2025.

They released a joint statement announcing the news. 

“Over the last year, the NHL and the NHLPA have been working on plans to conduct the next World Cup of Hockey, the premier international best-on-best hockey tournament, in February 2024. Unfortunately, in the current environment it is not feasible to hold the World Cup of Hockey at that time. We continue to plan for the next World Cup of Hockey, hopefully in February 2025.”

The NHL and NHLPA have attempted to make the World Cup the top international tournament, especially since NHL players have not participated in the past two Winter Olympics. The big hang-up on the Olympics has been the league not wanting to delay its season for two weeks, especially when the Olympics have taken place in time zones that would not be the best for live TV coverage.

This latest news is disappointing for hockey fans because it further delays a best-on-best international tournament at least another year. 

The last World Cup of Hockey was held back in 2016 as a preseason tournament before the 2016-17 NHL season.

That was the last time NHL players participated in a full international tournament that involved the league's biggest stars. 

NHL players have not participated in the Olympics since the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.