There will be no World Cup of Hockey in September 2020, the NHL and NHLPA announced Wednesday.
The NHL and NHLPA were unable to come to an agreement during their meetings in Las Vegas this week in the time that would have been needed to schedule the NHL-sanctioned tournament. The league had informed the player's association in December that an agreement would have needed to be reached in January.
“They know the timeframe,” Gary Bettman told reporters in December. “So the puck’s in their end.”
The NHLPA released this statement regarding negotiations:
NHLPA statement regarding World Cup of Hockey and ongoing discussions with NHL. pic.twitter.com/ytx9F4ZumV
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) January 16, 2019
The league released this statement:
NHL statement regarding today’s meeting with the NHLPA: pic.twitter.com/ciNYW7knDj
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 16, 2019
The previous World Cup of Hockey was held from Sept. 17-29 2016, with main tournament games being held in Toronto. Teams from Canada, the United States, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden competed, along with a North American team comprised of players aged 23 and under, and a team comprised of European players from countries not represented in the tournament. Canada, captained by Sidney Crosby, defeated Europe in the best-of-three final.
The World Cup negotiations were an important focus because they were a precursor to negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA in regard to the current collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement runs through Sept. 15, 2022, but the NHL or the NHLPA each have the option to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in September 2019, and instead end it on Sept. 15, 2020.
The failed World Cup negotiations are not a good sign for discussions between the two organizations in the coming months.
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