Last week, as documented on NHLRumors.com, the NHL will proceed with the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, but it can be conducted without the IIHF’s involvement. That was the plan from the start when the NHL and NHLPA announced they were bringing back the World Cup of Hockey throughout the 4 Nations Faceoff.
No person knew what the format can be for the World Cup of Hockey. But one thing was sure: it was not going to be just like the last World Cup of Hockey. There have been going to be eight nations playing, not six nations and two makeshift teams. Nevertheless, adjustments could also be made moving forward regarding the teams involved on this tournament.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said on @SiriusXMNHL with @DennisTFP and @TheFourthPeriod that a qualifier will probably be coming for the World Cup of Hockey. It won’t occur in 2028 https://t.co/PkGSxr0KiS
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) August 26, 2025
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly joined Dave Pagnotta and Dennis Bernstein of Sirius XM NHL Network throughout the NHL European Media Tour. Daly was asked concerning the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, how the bid process goes, and what the plan is for 2028 and beyond.
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NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Dave Pagnotta: “But while we’re on the on the topic World Cup, I consider you’ve began to take, or began already to take heads with respect to host cities. Are you able to give us a fast rundown of what the vision is when it comes to format? Are we going back to the start of World Cup with games in several cities, after which on each side of the pond, after which the ultimate in a single location? And the way’s that process going thus far?”
Bill Daly: “So we’ve actually only had games, stage games in Europe, in a single World Cup of Hockey Tournament that was in 2006 (2004) once we had a European pool. But yes, the intention. There’s a pair differences with this World Cup visavis, our last World Cup, for example, we do envision an invitational tournament of eight teams. I do think we would like to maneuver right into a situation where we create a qualification round, but that won’t be for 2028.
We’ll have a European pool, we’ll play in a single European city, and we’ll have a North American pool playing in a North American city. Think our sense is, straight away, it’s only one North American city that can find yourself hosting the semifinals and the ultimate. I feel we’ll have two quarter-final games here in Europe. And type of, as you said, we’re accepting expressions of interest now, currently for markets in North America and for markets in Europe.
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We’re pretty far along in that process. After which we’ll go right into a formal bid process among the many finalists, and we hope to make announcements on type of markets and venues sometime throughout the course of this upcoming regular season.”
Again, the important thing point, as documented by NHLRumors.com, is the Russian factor. We all know the 4 Nations Faceoff was an NHL and NHLPA event. Nevertheless, it might have been called off if Russia had been capable of participate, provided that Sweden and Finland didn’t want them there. The identical thing could occur if the political climate doesn’t change.
There’s a reason why the IIHF and the IOC have banned Russian athletes from the World Championships and Olympics. Not only would Sweden and Finland not participate, but other nations, similar to Czechia and Slovakia, would also bow out. Fair or not, that’s what is going on. That’s the fear from the NHL in the event that they invite Russia in 2028: if things don’t change, those hockey nations may not participate.
But that’s a number of years down the road. As Daly stated, there will probably be a European host city and a North American host city, but down the road, more cities could possibly be involved, much like 1996 and 2004.
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