The World Cup of Hockey is set to return in February of 2028, which will be the fourth edition of the international best-on-best tournament which was previously held in 1996, 2004 and 2016.
The next World Cup “will feature eight elite hockey nations, igniting national pride in fans around the globe as hockey’s biggest stars compete on the world stage,” according to NHL.com.
League commissioner Gary Bettman teased the location for the tournament earlier this week.
“I do,” Bettman said with a smile when asked if we know where the games are going to take place, per St. Louis Blues reporter Andy Strickland.
“We have some homework to do, some ‘I's' have to be dotted, ‘T's' have to be crossed, nothing's final, but we're getting close,” he added. “We didn't want to finalize or announce during the Olympics, because I am respectful of the attention. In the not too distant future, we'll be making some announcements, and there will be some games played in Europe and some games played in North America.”
Strickland confirmed that St. Louis is one of the North American cities being considered.
Expect announcement from the #NHL on World Cup of Hockey to be made very soon. Both a European and a North American location. St. Louis among a handful of NA locations being considered. pic.twitter.com/v24Im25NV7
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) February 27, 2026
Team Canada went undefeated in the last iteration of the tourney a decade ago, making it back-to-back World Cup wins. Tournament MVP Sidney Crosby led the way, factoring in on three of the five Canadian goals across the two-game final against Team Europe in Toronto.
Canada also came out on top in 2004, with then 38-year-old Mario Lemieux captaining the team in his final international event. Canada beat Finland 3-2 in the championship contest, with Martin Brodeur backstopping the club and Vincent Lecavalier earning MVP honors.
The United States won the inaugural World Cup of Hockey back in 1996, rallying to beat Canada in a three-game final. After Steve Yzerman scored in overtime to give Canada the win in Game 1, USA posted back-to-back 5-2 victories to capture the title. Mike Richter was excellent for his country between the pipes en route to winning MVP, while Brett Hull led the tournament in scoring with seven goals in seven games.
The 2028 World Cup will be hosted by the NHL and NHLPA, three years after the hugely successful 4 Nations Face-Off and two years after the 2026 Winter Olympics, which saw Team USA win gold for the first time since 1980 in Lake Placid.
Both of those tournaments were absolutely electric, and hockey fans will be thrilled to have even more best-on-best action to look forward to ahead of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.
