[sureLoss]

As for why 8 teams and not 6... answer is $$$$$. More games = more $

http://www.tsn.ca/young-guns-and-eur...ockey-1.187717

The National Hockey League and its players association have told team executives they hope to generate between $75 million and $100 million from the rekindled World Cup of Hockey.

A person familiar with the matter told TSN that the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in September 2016, will raise about half its revenue from the sale of broadcast and internet streaming rights. The NHL and NHLPA have predicted those rights may garner close to $50 million.

It's a gamble to spend so much on a tournament like the World Cup when there's no guarantee Team Canada will advance beyond the round robin portion. But if it does, there could be a big payoff in TV ratings. The final of the World Cup will be a best-of-three format, TSN has learned.

Besides TV rights, the NHL and NHLPA will also sell sponsorship rights to the World Cup. They anticipate selling to eight premier corporate sponsors and negotiating deals of at least $1.5 million in each category, a source told TSN.

The NHL and NHLPA will also garner revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, it's expected that the NHL and the Players' Association will have to pay Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment at least $5 million for hosting the three-week tournament.
While executives with the Montreal Canadiens wanted to host some of the World Cup games at the Bell Centre, the NHL and its players union decided to host all of the games in Toronto. That way, if the tournament is a success, they could auction off the rights to host the games in 2019, perhaps, to the city that offers the best revenue guarantee - be it Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Moscow, or another city.