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The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off is the first international tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Hours before puck drop of the first game in the tournament, between Canada and Sweden, the NHL and NHLPA revealed their new plans for 2028.
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the World Cup of Hockey will return midway through the 2027-28 season. The NHL will also start fielding bids from cities to host games, and hopes that big European cities will participate in the process.
The World Cup of Hockey returns in February 2028! 🏆
The world’s best hockey players competing for a best-on-best international hockey championship. pic.twitter.com/6ZM51s8ZaU
— NHL (@NHL) February 12, 2025
Bettman added that there will be at least eight teams in the tournament and no blended gimmick teams like Team North America and Team Europe from the last World Cup. The tournament will occur “on NHL-sized rinks using NHL rules” and be officiated by NHL officials.
“International best-on-best competition is very important to our players – representing their countries on the ice is in their DNA — and hockey fans love it,” Bettman said. “Resuming Olympic participation next season and staging a World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 will provide expanded opportunity for more players to represent more nations in best-on-best competition. With this tournament – and the World Cup’s return to regular rotation – the NHL and NHLPA take a major step in our joint commitment to international hockey.”
Regarding potential Russian or Belorussian participation, Bettman balked at giving a concrete answer, saying that the league has “enough time to deal with the realities of what the world situation looks like” before 2028. However, he did reference the IIHF’s recent decision to extend the two nations’ ban through the 2025-26 season.
The World Cup is planned for February 2028, likely meaning that the season’s All-Star Game will not occur, just as this year’s was skipped for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The plan is to have international hockey in some form every two years, but, per NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh, future decisions will be made on a tournament-by-tournament basis.
Wednesday’s announcement follows an agreement last year between the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF to have NHL players participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.
Here’s the full NHL press release:
MONTREAL (February 12, 2025) – The World Cup of Hockey will return in February 2028 with teams comprising the world’s best hockey players competing for a best-on-best international hockey championship, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced today. The World Cup of Hockey is jointly organized by the NHLPA and the NHL.
The World Cup of Hockey 2028 will continue a regular schedule of international competition involving NHL Players, which begins with the 4 Nations Face-Off (starting tonight), and continues with participation in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and French Alps 2030. It will mark the fourth World Cup of Hockey (1996, 2004 and 2016), with a bidding process for host cities and venues expected to open in the coming months.
“International best-on-best competition is very important to our Players – representing their countries on the ice is in their DNA — and hockey fans love it,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Resuming Olympic participation next season and staging a World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 will provide expanded opportunity for more players to represent more nations in best-on-best competition. With this tournament – and the World Cup’s return to regular rotation – the NHL and NHLPA take a major step in our joint commitment to international hockey.”
“The Players love representing their countries on the international hockey stage, and we are thrilled to pick up on the momentum of the 4 Nations Face-Off by announcing the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 to establish a full international calendar of best-on-best,” said Marty Walsh, NHLPA Executive Director. “It is one of the greatest honours for any player who gets to play on the global stage wearing their home country’s hockey sweater. Hockey fans around the world are about to be treated to exceptional hockey with the best players in the world competing against each other for international hockey glory.”
The World Cup of Hockey 2028 will be played on NHL-sized rinks using NHL rules and officiated by NHL officials. Other competition details will be determined by the NHLPA and NHL in consultation with third parties, where appropriate, in the coming months.
Today’s announcement was made at a news conference at the Bell Centre at the 4 Nations Face-Off featuring NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh and NHLPA Assistant Executive Director, Ron Hainsey.
Additional details, including participating teams, tournament dates and time, broadcast information, training camp dates and locations, will be announced later this year. Iconic imagery, stats and recaps from all three World Cups of Hockey (1996, 2004 and 2016) can be found in a new, one-stop shop for international tournament records on Records.NHL.com.
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