from Damien Cox of th Toronto Star,
Don’t be bothered if your memories of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey are a bit sketchy. You’re not alone.
As a refresher, the tournament was held two Septembers ago, entirely in Toronto, there were two amalgamation teams made up of players from various European countries and NHLers under the age of 23, the U.S. squad was lousy and Canada beat the Euros in a forgettable two-game final. The hockey was fine, if not compelling, and the profits were considerable, if not spectacular.
More than anything, it was a start. The NHL was back on the board with what was once its signature international event before the league joined the Olympic movement in 1998, working hand-in-hand with the NHL Players Association and sharing the proceeds.
The intention was clear. After 12 years without a non-Olympic, best-on-best competition, the World Cup was not only going to be a regular event, likely every four years, it was going to be accompanied by several other new events to showcase NHL players internationally....
Well, here we are in 2018, almost in October, and no events, new or old, have materialized. Boston and Calgary were in China for a couple of meaningless exhibition games earlier this month. Edmonton and New Jersey will kick off the 2018-19 NHL season in Gothenberg, Sweden, as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series, which will also include Winnipeg and Florida flying to Helsinki for a pair of games Nov. 1 and 2.
This is clearly not what the grand plan was.
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