The World Cup easily can become legit again, and be consider the worth of Olympic gold when NHL players were going to it. But fans aren't gonna take it seriously if the NHL/IIHF doesn't. They have to make it consistent, and make assurances that fans can expect this tournament every four years. Then it'll be something that builds anticipations, and excitement. Give it a generation, and people will forget that the NHL even participated in the Olympics if they never go back again.
I also think that it would be cool to have a Canada Cup type series in the two years between the event. The suggestion of the championship country versus Team World sounds intriguing. But I think matchup quality, and player roster allocation can become a bit messy. Perhaps keep it more simple by doing Team North America vs. Team World. It's what they did for the All-Star games many years back.
|