“The statements of the head of the NHL union sound vague” – Kommersant FM

The Russian national team will not be at the World Cup of Hockey. This was stated by the head of the NHL union, Marty Walsh. The tournament, scheduled for February 2025, will feature four teams: Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden. The World Cup, formerly called the Canada Cup, is not held regularly. The last tournament took place in 2016. Why did NHL representatives decide to make loud statements long before the start of the draw? Kommersant FM sports commentator Vladimir Osipov looked into it.

At first glance, there is nothing new – the Russian hockey team is being suspended from the next tournament. Just don’t forget that this tournament was, in principle, invented so that professionals from the NHL could measure their strength with hockey players from the USSR. In the distant 70s, professionals were not allowed to compete at the Olympic Games, and after the successful USSR-Canada series in 1972 and 1974, the Canada Cup was invented, which successfully started in 1976.

Then the tournament turned into the World Cup and was held, as they say, at the request of the audience. And after the USSR disappeared, the borders were opened, and players from our country began to officially play in NHL clubs, the confrontation between the two systems, including hockey, was not very popular.

Therefore, in the 21st century, the World Cup was held only twice – in 2004 and 2016. Now NHL representatives have held negotiations with teams from Sweden and Finland. Of course, the answer was unequivocal: if Russia is at the tournament, then the Swedes and Finns will definitely not be there. It was precisely in order to show the significance of these negotiations that NHL representatives made the necessary statements, says hockey analyst Igor Larin:

“With such a stripped-down project of four teams, the NHL returned to its home in North America, and made, as they say now, a leak that the tournament would be in exactly this format. I absolutely do not believe that this will happen. They just showed the Finns and Swedes that their opinions matter.”

If you read carefully, you will notice that the statements of the head of the union, Marty Ulosh, sound vague. The official does not assert anything, but uses expressions such as “possibly”, “most likely”. He says the NHL should take into account that some federations do not allow their players to participate in the tournament together with the Russians. At the same time, Mr. Ulosh tried not to push the fact that all European hockey players go on the ice with our players in NHL clubs without question. Most likely, the World Cup will not be worth it at all if the European teams do not change their minds, Igor Larin is sure:

“In the current situation, Russia is the highest grossing team. Everything will be multiplied by politics. NHL, North Americans play all these cards great. The World Cup can only take place in a full format. It’s not needed in today’s cut-down North America.”

We should not forget about the commercial component, which is of key importance for the NHL. Confrontations between the US and Sweden or Canada and Finland are unlikely to cause a stir. Although this time officials want to make the World Cup a regular tournament and can hold it once without the Russian national team in order to get high fees in the future, says hockey expert Leonid Weisfeld:

“As I understand it, they want to make this tournament in the inter-Olympic cycle, that is, two years before the Olympics. If the NHL plans to run it for many years, then it makes sense.”

In addition, the situation is changing very quickly, and the Russian national team’s return to big hockey can be rapid, Leonid Weisfeld is sure:

“Tomorrow everything will end in Ukraine, and the day after tomorrow Russia will play.”

So there is time until February 2025, and the rhetoric from NHL officials will definitely change along with the change in the political situation. And in order to form a team for the World Cup, Russians, by and large, don’t even need to fly overseas. There are currently 41 players in the NHL with a Russian passport.

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