Russia's war in Ukraine has derailed plans to hold a World Cup of Hockey this winter.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association on Friday abandoned plans to stage a World Cup in February 2024 as they had hoped, saying in a joint statement "iit is not feasible" in the current environment.
"The conflict in the Ukraine makes it difficult to deal with the Russian issue, and we've certainly heard from some of the participating countries or countries who would participate would have objections to Russian participation in the World Cup," Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month. "Obviously something that's relevant and we'd take into consideration in connection with making decisions.
Unlike soccer, which banned Russia from its World Cup because of the country's invasion of Ukraine, many of hockey's best players are from there and the impact would be much greater. No Russian participation would have meant the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov being left out.
Commissioner Gary Bettman foreshadowed the decision at the league's board of governors meeting Oct. 18, saying the deadline was approaching to nail down plans. There were other hurdles, such as cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation and national federations over hosting games in Europe, but the league and players were confident they could do the tournament themselves, if needed.
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