The NHL and its players’ association have presented the IIHF with initial plans for the World Cup of Hockey, with the parties discussing details following a meeting in Paris.
The parties intend to organize a 17-day World Cup of Hockey in February 2024 that would feature at least eight national teams, with games played in North America and Europe.
“Nothing has been agreed yet on the structure and dates of the event as well as the participating teams, this was a briefing session to understand from the NHL and the PA what their initial plans are for the World Cup,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif.
The plans were presented to Tardif and IIHF General Secretary Matti Nurminen on Aug. 24, and the IIHF met with Member National Associations and European Leagues (represented by Hockey Europe) and Clubs (represented by EHC) on Aug. 31 to discuss.
The World Cup of Hockey was most recently held in Toronto in September 2016 and featured eight teams: host Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, United States, plus Team Europe (composed of players from European nations not represented) and Team North America (Canadian and American players 23 years old or younger).
After NHL players were prohibited from attending the Beijing Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns, the first time NHL players were set to participate in the Olympics since 2014, the World Cup of Hockey features the top hockey players across the globe in the best-on-best tournament.
Canada defeated Europe 3-1 and 2-1 to win the best-of-three final and capture the World Cup.