The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association are actively planning how to best hold a World Cup of Hockey in February 2024, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday.
The World Cup has not been held since 2016, when Team Canada prevailed over Team Europe in a best-of-three series to capture the championship trophy.
While the 2016 tournament was held exclusively in Toronto, Daly said a 2024 World Cup of Hockey would feature games played in both North America and Europe.
“We still want to play one pool in Europe, a preliminary round pool in Europe and a preliminary round pool in North America and move the semifinals and the final to a different city in North America likely,” Daly said. “I think that short list would universally encompass more traditional hockey markets.”
Daly made his comments from Paris, France, where the NHL is currently conducting its European Player Media Tour.
The deputy commissioner has met with NHLPA representatives and International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif to discuss the 2024 World Cup while in Paris.
“We’re moving full steam ahead and that means we’re continuing to have regular meetings,” Daly said.
Daly mentioned it’s unclear whether Russia will be able to participate in the tournament, and there have also been discussions about expanding the pool of competing nations.
Teams representing Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Czechia participated in the 2016 World Cup, with additional novelty teams representing the rest of Europe and the NHL’s U-23 stars from North America.
“I think longer term, that’s our plan to have a qualification tournament at another time during the calendar,” Daly said. “Given the short timeframe we have between now and February 2024, if we have a qualification stage, I think it’s part of the tournament.”
The World Cup of Hockey — the successor to the Canada Cup — has been held three times: in 1996, 2004, and 2016. After the United States won in 1996, Canada captured both the 2004 and 2016 championships.
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