from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

The rebirth of the World Cup tournament for 2015 is also on the horizon, as are expanded forays into Europe by the NHL. Those will include more regular-season games on that continent along with the expansion of the Victoria Cup concept, which pits NHL teams against the champions of European leagues.

In fact, the NHL is so committed to growing its product internationally that it plans to open a staffed European office by the end of 2013, according to a source.

These are exciting times for those who love international hockey.

As difficult as the Olympic negotiation process proved to be in recent months, there seemed to be genuine optimism coming from the NHL, NHL Players’ Association and International Ice Hockey Federation following Friday’s announcement about the Sochi Games.

With those groups showing a spirit of co-operation, it left some of the most powerful men in the sport dreaming big.

“I hope that this is the first step in a multi-year deal, which will involve World Cups, Victoria Cups and other new events internationally,” Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson told sportsnet.ca. “I think that there is a great opportunity for the IIHF, NHL and NHLPA.”

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