NHL Rumours: 2028 World Cup, Senators, Fleury, Crosby

With the Olympics taking place in 2026, a World Cup tournament is set to take place in 2028, and then the two best-on-best tournaments will alternate every second year. The eight-team tournament is expected to take place over 12 days in February 2028, and as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports, the opportunity to present interest and put a bid together has begun (from Ottawa Senators preparing a bid for 2028 World Cup of Hockey, Ottawa Sun, July 4, 2025).

Garrioch reports that in an interview with Senators president Cyril Leeder, it was confirmed that the Senators will look to have the Canadian Tire Centre as a host building for the tournament.

“The Senators understand what it takes to host this kind of event. The club can offer Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal, the world’s longest skating rink, as a backdrop for activities downtown.”

Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun

Teams Calling Fleury About One More Season

After a farewell tour full of handshakes and goodbyes, the 2024-25 season was the end for Fleury. After a long, successful career, he made the difficult decision to hang up the pads, but some teams had to double-check with him before moving on in free agency.

Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, Fleury’s agent, reported on his podcast “Agent Provocateur” that on July 1, he received calls from five teams on Fleury, and whether or not he would be interested in playing one more season. Walsh stated that “[Fleury] has made it pretty clear that he has no intention to play next year”.

With the goalie market pretty slim in free agency, led by just Anton Forsberg, Kaapo Kahkonen, and Vitek Vanecek, those five teams calling on Fleury tried to think outside the box and scoop up a quality goalie who many thought was unavailable.

Crosby Could Be Moved at 2026 Deadline

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne, and Sam McKee were chatting on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and Kypreos spoke about Crosby and the idea of him leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins and potentially joining the Montreal Canadiens.

The panel was discussing Crosby and stated that he is not a babysitter for a crop of young players coming into the Penguins organization. Crosby signed a three-year extension at $8.7 million per season, but the direction of the Penguins continues to go in the opposite direction of immediate success, and they have continued to sell off assets.

Kypreos says that he feels better about the Penguins and Crosby moving apart now than he did a few weeks ago, and said there is a chance he plays for a team other than the Penguins in this upcoming season.

Ultimately, it is up to Crosby. If he decides he wants to leave, he will be traded to the destination he wants. The Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche make the most sense, but everything is up to Crosby. Nobody is ever going to question the loyalty that Crosby has had to the Penguins, and while yes, a rebuild is the right thing to do for the long-term future of the Penguins, it is still a difficult decision to take away any chance of winning for what could be the final three years of Crosby’s career.