The World Cup of Hockey is here to stay.
That appears to be the consensus reached by the NHL's Board of Governors following the return of the major international tournament this past September.
"The final take is I think everybody in the room believes, as do we, that we were able to re-establish this event in a very big, major way," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday following a series of board meetings, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
"It was very successful. There are a variety of things that we're focused on to do it even better the next time we do it, whenever that might be. I think people were pleased with it, understanding that it's a very small part of our business, but we think it's important when we can to focus on events like that."
Bettman added board members prefer the timing of the World Cup to that of the Olympics, seeing as the former took place during the preseason whereas the latter requires a midseason shutdown. As such, 2018 Olympic participation remains in doubt, with NHL owners expressing "strong negative sentiment" about it Thursday.
As for the September event, some concerns were raised about injuries suffered in advance of the regular season, and there are questions as to whether the format of the tournament will change.
For now, plan on another World Cup being played sooner than later.
