The Russian national hockey team is not expected to participate in international tournaments under the auspices of the IOC and IIHF, without thinking too much about the consequences of politically motivated steps. The NHL is in no hurry to follow the beaten track – in North America our value is recognized and they are looking for options for the strongest Russian hockey players to play at the World Cup.

They just know how to count money.

The value of Russia

The National Hockey League is looking for a way to return the Russian team to international hockey. True, the world championships and Eurotours are not subject to the leaders of the league. But the World Cup with the participation of the strongest national teams of the planet is held just under the auspices of the NHL. And since our hockey players are deservedly considered among the strongest, the participation of Russians in the status tournament is a priority for the organizers.

“Now we recognize the value that Russia brings to international hockey tournaments. It would be a real shame if the Russian players, who have done nothing wrong, would not have the opportunity to compete in the best of the best. We would like to find an option in which this does not happen, – reports the words of the Deputy Commissioner of the NHL Bill Daley Daily Faceoff.

One of the leaders of the league also reports that the final decision will not be easy, but at the same time rejoices that there is no need to rush yet. The tournament is only scheduled for February 2024. A lot can change in a year and a half, for sure the NHL would not mind if the first Russians in international sports were legalized by someone else, for example, the IOC or IIHF. In this case, the flow of criticism against the league would be much less. However, even if in two years the matter does not get off the ground, Russia has a chance to play in the World Cup.

Without Europe and North America

The World Cup under the auspices of the NHL should be successful from a commercial point of view, otherwise why would the league hold it at all? In North America, they know how to count money, and therefore it is very doubtful that such stars as Alexander Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Andrey Vasilevsky, Kirill Kaprizov, Artemy Panarin will be left out of the tournament.

The easiest way to keep these bright performers, but at the same time not violate the boycott of Russia, is to include athletes in some international team. In 2016, the European team participated in the World Cup, which, by the way, reached the final.

Photo: © Minas Panagiotakis / Contributor / World Cup of Hockey / Gettyimages.com

Of course, the Swiss, Germans, Slovaks and other Danes would make room for the star Russians. But will the European team, in principle, play at the 2024 World Cup? According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshinsky, there are no plans for continental teams this time around.

“The tentative plan is to hold a mini-tournament in early February to determine which two countries will replace the European and North American teams in the World Cup,” an insider said on social media, citing league officials.

Attractive sign

Based on the plans of the NHL leadership, we can safely assume that if the Russians still get to the World Cup, they will appear on the ice as a separate team without additional European inclusions. But here the next question arises – under what banners to act? Will there be a Russian flag or fans of the Red Machine will have to be content with the neutral status of our athletes?

So far, no one is ready to give an exact answer on both sides of the ocean. But, again, returning to the commercial nature of the tournament, we can assume that the fashion set by the IOC for the neutrality of Russia will not enjoy the same success here.

For North American fans, and for hockey fans from other continents, the sign “Russia – Canada” is attractive and can make you spend your hard-earned money on watching such a hockey performance. But “Canada – Neutral Athletes” is no longer so interesting. The solvent public, seeing such a poster, may well prefer watching an NBA match, European football, or even some series with elves and dragons to an incomprehensible event.

And if the same IOC with the IIHF puts political expediency above the opportunity to earn money, then the NHL has so far demonstrated that money is the most important thing. At least no public pressure forced the league to abandon the stellar and even not-so-stellar Russians. This means that we can remain discreetly optimistic about the participation of our team in the World Cup.