Four Nations starts on Thursday night Swedish time, a scaled-down version of the World Championship since Russia is not allowed to participate due to the war in Ukraine.
Despite the tournament not having started, the NHL is already planning for the next tournament on North American soil. Then, they want a World Cup with up to eight teams in February 2028.
Canadian TSN reported some time ago that the NHL is moving forward with the plans without the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation), which believes that the timing is not good.
According to TSN, the NHL can present the plans already now during Four Nations.
Break in league play
If countries like Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are to participate in a tournament that takes place in February, their domestic leagues must be paused.
They cannot, like Sweden and Finland, fill an entire team with NHL players.
We also want to see a World Cup, our league (SHL) can play anyway, then I have respect for Switzerland and Slovakia. I hope we find a common solution, but if it clashes, we want to play the World Cup, says Anders Larsson, who also sits on the IIHF board, and adds:
We in Sweden really want our players and above all our fans to see the best players.
Wanted to include Russia
The Russia question comes up again.
Initially, the plan was for the tournament that starts now to have been played last year and with Russia as one of the teams.
The European teams said a flat no, the NHL postponed the tournament by a year, but when the war continued, Russia was dropped.
Russian players have been allowed to play in the NHL since the war broke out in 2022.
For us, it was unthinkable to have a Russian team in the current situation, and that was listened to very clearly, says Anders Larsson.
Many miss Russia, which is suspended by the IIHF, sports-wise – but everyone understands that they cannot participate.
These decisions we have made internationally are entirely in line with the Swedish line, they are correct and necessary in difficult times, says Larsson and continues:
Now, one cannot opt out and not see the whole picture, but it is clear that sports-wise, it is noticeable that Russia is missing. It is a major nation in hockey. A desired situation for all of us is that the misery (the war) ends and that they can return.
The IIHF recently decided to extend the suspension of Russia and Belarus over the next season.
