The NHL will not look to add an in-season tournament like the NBA has earlier this month. NBA commissioner Adam Silver unveiled the NBA’s European Cup-style competition which is set to debut this coming season. Financial prizes are available alongside the NBA Cup to the tournament winner.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated that the NHL is giving no consideration to the possibility of introducing in-season tournaments. This isn’t a shock as the NHL already runs an 82-game season, which to most fans is already long and drawn out enough.
Conflicting the NHL’s deputy commissioner is the NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh who says there is openness about the idea but no discussions among the players yet. Walsh also mentioned that you never know what the next million-dollar idea is, expressing that he wants the players to run ideas by him no matter what, even if they’re a bit far-fetched.
Walsh also mentioned that the length of the NHL regular season would be a consideration in any discussion about an in-season tournament. However, Walsh’s comments took a turn, mentioning that rather than having an in-season tournament, Walsh said the players are more focused on international hockey play during the regular season. This includes the World Cup of Hockey in 2025 and the Winter Olympics in 2026. This would be a nice fresh breath of air for hockey fans to see the best players from each country face off in the Olympics again. The NHL has restricted players from representing their countries in Olympic hockey after the 2014 Sochi Games.
