Did The NHL Open The Door To Russian Participation At The Next World Cup Of Hockey?

If there is one major complaint with the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off — aside from it not being the Olympics — it is that there are only four countries involved.

That means that fans will not get to see Germany’s Leon Draisaitl, Czechia’s David Pastrnak and Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovsky. It also means that Russians, many of whom are among the best players in the NHL, are also being left out.

Well, that may no longer be the case when the NHL and NHLPA host the next best-on-best tournament three years from now.

According to an X post from TSN insider Darren Dreger, the league and its players’ union “have advised the IIHF they intend on moving forward, at least for now, without IIHF involvement in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.”

Read between the lines, and it appears that this could open the door to Russia participation.

According to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, the league intends on having an eight-team World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 that would be more inclusive than this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. That means a best-on-best tournament that includes a two-time scoring champion (Nikita Kucherov), a two-time Vezina Trophy winner (Sergei Bobrovsky) and a nine-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner (Alex Ovechkin) who is on the cusp of becoming the greatest goal-scorer of all time.

“We've historically had eight teams, and what we're probably want to do is create a qualifying tournament for two of the eight teams,” Daly said at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in September. “So, in other words, four teams competing for the last two spots with the other six teams being invited.”

Those six “locks” presumably include Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Russia, with Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and Latvia probably competing for the remaining two spots.

A lot has to happen between now and then for Russia to be included, primarily an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. But by taking the IIHF out of the equation, the NHL and the NHLPA will be the ones deciding if Russians will be allowed to play in the eight-team tournament.

“I think in large part, you know we would see where the international community is with respect to Russian participation and competition,” Daly said in September. “That will be a determining factor for us, but it would be probably somewhat persuasive, at least if, you know, depending on what the situation is. I don't want to rule out anything. I don't want to rule in anything.”

Related: When Will Russia Return To The World Juniors?

Since February 2022, the IIHF has banned Russia and Belarus from international competitions after Russia invaded Ukraine. A year ago, with the war still ongoing, the IIHF voted to uphold its ban throughout the 2024-25 season. Who knows what it will look like three years from now?

"Usually, we make a decision in February," IIHF president Luc Tardif told The Hockey News owner W. Graeme Roustan in November. "We have to answer the question, 'Is it too early to bring back Russia and Belarus to our competition?' We wait until the last moment because the teams that play in the championship in Sweden and in Denmark, they have to understand the process of relegation and promotion."

For now, the big question is what will happen in 2026 when NHLers head back to the Olympics. As of now, Russian team participation is banned, however, a lot can change between now and then.

“Well, I mean, we haven't thought that far ahead in the sense of like what, you know, because the situation is so dynamic,” said Daly. “With the Olympics, the IOC makes that decision completely.”

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