TORONTO (Sep. 16) -- The National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association are working towards renewing the World Cup of Hockey Tournament, last contested prior to the lockout in September, 2004. Though neither side will offer confirmation, an event involving at least six nations will take place prior to the 2011-12 NHL season. And the plan, once again, is to try and establish a rotation of every four years for the tournament.
That was the objective when the first pre-season international gathering took place in September, 1976. It was known as the Canada Cup back then, and subsequent tournaments under the same banner were held in 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. But, the rotation then fell victim to the labor unrest between the NHL and the P.A. -- leading to work stoppages of varying lengths in 1992, 1994 and 2004-05 -- and to the advent of NHL players taking part in the Winter Olympic Games of 1998, 2002 and 2006. The Canada Cup format was re-invented prior to the 1996-97 season as the World Cup of Hockey. It returned, after an eight-year gap, in 2004. The USA won the first tournament; Canada the second.
The next major international event involving NHL players [apart from the annual World Hockey Championships] will be at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. But, there are loud whispers that the league's participation will end there. Major factors, including the skyrocketing costs of insuring the players, will likely return the Olympic hockey event to amateur athletes for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. That will undoubtedly whet the appetite for international competition among the world's best hockey players, and will lead to re-establishment of the World Cup in September, 2011.
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The NHL's Board of Governers met for more than four hours earlier today at the Metropolitain Toronto Convention Centre. Nothing particularly newsworthy came of the gathering, though a number of important issues were discussed. Topping the list was the on-going dispute between the Nashville Predators and the new Russian Kontinental Hockey League over the rights to prospect Alexander Radulov -- chosen 15th overall by the Preds in the 2004 NHL draft. Radulov was under contract to the Predators when he signed to play in the new super league this summer. The NHL has requested that the dispute be settled through binding arbitration, and is awaiting response from the KHL. Commissioner Gary Bettman pulled no punches after the meeting today when commenting on the Radulaov affair.
"I don't think the way the KHL or the IIHF has handled the Radulov situation is either fair, appropriate or in good faith," Bettman said. "That's the reason we have -- to say the least -- reservations about doing business with the KHL going forward. What they did here was wrong... and they know it, because they've acknowledged that [Radulov] has a contract with Nashville. So, this will sort itself out; it's not something that keeps us awake at night. The best players in the world will continue to want to play in the NHL."
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Though it's almost expected that the league will expand to Kansas City and Las Vegas in the forseeable future, Bettman echoed the words of several governors by confirming that the expansion issue was not on the docket today. "At the present time, we're not ready to engage in any sort of formal expansion process," said the commish. "If that changes -- and it could at some point -- we'll open it up and see what the interest is. There were some articles indicating that there's no building deal yet in Vegas, and we've had expressions of interest from lots of places -- north and south of the 49th parallel. At some point, we may deal with them, but not right now."
The NHL has long been intrigued with Las Vegas for a number of reasons. Of course, there is no professional sports team in one of the world's most intense tourist locations, and a city whose population growth has exploded in recent years. The issue of an arena would hardly be a stumbling block, given the amount of money in Las Vegas, and the fact a new building seems to rise from the ground every ten minutes. Kansas City has an NHL-ready facility called the Sprint Center, which opened in October, 2007. It has a capacity of roughly 17,500 for hockey and a total of 72 luxury suites. The only sports tenant currently in the building is the Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League.
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Anaheim Ducks' GM Brian Burke was in fine form after the Board meeting today. Earlier, it was announced that Burke had placed veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider on waivers. When asked if he could have gotten anything in return for Schneider, Burke replied, "Oh yeah, I turned down 25 offers for him and put him on waivers.... That's not a very smart question. He's a good player and a good guy, but his age and his salary are factors for any team that is up against the cap. It's the same question I got asked [last season] about [goalie] Ilya Bryzgalov. People said, 'couldn't you get something for him?' and I said, 'absolutely, I turned down 17 different offers.' But only 25 on this guy [Schneider]."
Perhaps ol' Burkey was warming up for his future in the Toronto hockey market. If so, it was an entertaining preview.
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