It’s been seven years since the NHLers last took part in a best-on-best international tournament, and nine years since the...
Shohei Ohtani. Mike Trout. It’s a 3-2 score. Full count. A showdown between two of the best baseball players in the world.
So, add in the NHL pulling out of the Beijing Winter Games and the league passing on hosting the 2024 World Cup of Hockey, we’re going to surpass the 10th anniversary of the last time we had a true, authentic best-on-best international tournament, with no clear plans for the future. But I know it’s never going to attract the North American audience, and that’s what the NHL cares about. Sending players over to South Korea for the 2018 Olympics and playing games at 3:00 AM ET, was never going to be something the owners were interested in, either. In China four years later, with the rise in COVID-19 at the time, among other things, it made sense that they backed out.
The concern over injuries in these exhibition contests will never go away. We saw many prominent voices in baseball share their arguments for that when discussing the WBC. I understand owners not wanting their prized possessions to get injured playing in events they’re not being paid to participate in. But it doesn’t seem to be an issue for other sports. Yeah, the WBC didn’t get all of the biggest stars, but it got THE biggest stars, and people watched just for that.
Connor Bedard is about to enter the NHL in a few months. No prospect since McDavid has held so much star power. If he ends up living up to expectations, we have another superstar on our hands. Let’s show him off to the world and give everyone a good glimpse of the future of the sport. He’d be ready for Canada by 2026.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Connor McDavid becomes fourth active NHL player to score 60 goals in a seasonDoing it in 72 games, McDavid is the fastest to 60 in 27 years.
Read more »
WATCH: Connor McDavid scores 60th goal of the season in overtime thrillerConnor McDavid scored an electrifying overtime goal against the Coyotes late Wednesday, his 60th of the year.
Read more »
2022-23 NHLPA Player Poll: McDavid, Vasilevsky still most trusted in a must-win gameSuperstars Makar and McDavid were among the winners of the sixth-annual player poll.
Read more »
2022-23 NHLPA Player Poll: McDavid, Vasilevsky still most trusted in a must-win gameMeanwhile, Auston Matthews was voted to have the best “shoe game,” while Vegas is the most attractive road destination.
Read more »
SIMMONS: McDavid, Makar, MacKinnon being robbed by lack of best-on-best in hockeyFrom simmonssteve McDavid, Makar, MacKinnon being robbed by lack of best-on-best in hockey
Read more »
McDavid hits 60-goal mark with overtime winner as Oilers hand Coyotes 4-3 lossLeon Draisaitl draws assists on all four goals as Edmonton Oilers beat Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in overtime
Read more »