Canucks want to bring World Cup of Hockey to Vancouver: report
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Vancouver in 2026, and so might be the World Cup of Hockey in 2028.
This is according to Darren Dreger, who reports that the Vancouver Canucks are among the NHL teams who will submit bids to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
The NHL plans to participate in best-on-best international hockey every two years, which includes the Winter Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey. NHL players will participate in the Olympics this February for the first time since 2014. Then in 2028, the NHL-led World Cup of Hockey will return following a 12-year hiatus.
Two host cities are expected to be chosen, with the NHL making its decision following a bid process.
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have reportedly already submitted bids.
But there’s no shortage of interest from other cities.
“I’m told 10 or more NHL cities will also submit their bids to the NHL,” Dreger said on Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN.
Dreger name-checked these seven cities as potential hosts:
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Montreal
- Vancouver
- Las Vegas
- Tampa
- Dallas
Toronto hosted the last World Cup of Hockey in 2016, but the Maple Leafs are not expected to bid for the next tournament.
Montreal and Boston shared hosting duties for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)
Vancouver hosted just one game between Canada and Russia in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey on Aug. 29, 1996.
The 2028 tournament is expected to be held in February, similar to the Winter Olympics.
If Seattle shows interest in hosting, that could help Vancouver’s chances, given the proximity between the two cities. The NHL would surely love to have Team USA play in front of a pro-American crowd, in addition to having Team Canada play games north of the border.
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