Russia inclusion for World Cup of Hockey 2028 in ‘wait-and-see’ mode, Bettman says

TORONTO -- The NHL will continue to monitor the international hockey landscape before deciding if Russia will be included in the to-be-determined eight-team field for the World Cup of Hockey 2028, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

"We're committed to ultimately doing the right thing, which on a daily basis may change, but we're still not doing business with Russia and the players in the NHL who are from Russia play for their NHL teams, they're not playing for Russia," Bettman said. "We're going to just have to wait and see how this continues to unfold because it's changing now on almost a daily basis, and we're going to have to deal with that. We know that, but the good news is we don't have to make a decision today."

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last month that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russia in international competitions. Russia and Belarus were barred from competition in 2022 following Russia waging war on Ukraine.

Despite the CAS ruling, Canada prime minister Mark Carney said on Nov. 3 that the country will not allow Russian and Belarusian players to represent their national team in the upcoming 2027 World Junior Championship in Alberta while the war in Ukraine continues.

Bettman said the IIHF "is going to have to work through it because a number of federations have said they're not going to play" in IIHF sanctioned tournaments if Russia is allowed to play.

The World Cup is jointly run by the NHL and NHL Players' Association, which means it is not applicable to the CAS ruling regarding the IIHF. However, the League includes the IIHF, along with the national team federations, in the planning and execution of the event.

"The Canadian government saying Russian teams can't come in anyway is very complicated from our standpoint," Bettman said.

Bettman said he and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly met with IIHF president Franz Reindl on Monday prior to the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Reindl was elected president of the IIHF in October.

"We're going to have to evaluate what is the right thing to do at the right point in time taking into account everything that is and isn't going on in the world," Commissioner Bettman said. "There's no easy answer to that. But we're committed to making the best possible decision when we need to."

The Commissioner would not give a timeline or deadline for when the League and NHLPA will have to decide if Russia is going to be in the eight-team field for the World Cup.

"At some point," Bettman said. "Somebody could give you a timeline today and that timeline could change.

"Obviously, we're monitoring it very closely."

He also acknowledged the fact that many Russian players in the NHL want to be able to play in the World Cup.

"We understand that," Bettman said, "but it's complicated."