There would be no World Cup of Hockey in 2020: NHL

On the heels of the NHL's controversial decision to prohibit participation of its players in the Winter Olympics in 2018, the league and players association jointly announced Wednesday that there would be no World Cup of Hockey in 2020. The news was rolled out under the shadow of informal labor discussions that began in recent weeks as the NHL and NHLPA try to avert a fourth lockout since 1994 before the current deal is up in 2020.

Both sides have the choice to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in September. "While the parties have now jointly concluded that it is no longer realistic to try to schedule a Word Cup of Hockey for the fall of 2020, they plan to continue their dialogue with a hope of being able to schedule the next World Cup event as part of a broader agreement, which would include a long-term international event calendar," the NHL said in a statement.

"The players are focused on finding the proper time to schedule the World Cup of Hockey within the context of an overall international hockey calendar," the NHLPA said in its own statement. The International Ice Hockey Federation does not organize the World Cup of Hockey, as it does for the World Ice Hockey Championships and Olympics. While the World Cup of Hockey normally would occur before the start of the regular season and not interfere with the NHL's regular season, it has been held only three times (1996, 2004, 2016). The WCOH succeeded the Canada Cup, the international competition that was held five times between 1976-91. 

(With inputs from agencies.)