It's a little early to rejoice, but NHL insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a very interesting morsel of information during the NHL broadcast on Saturday. According to Friedman, there is a strong desire among NHL players to compete in a best-of-best tournament this year.
"Back in 2016 when you had the World Cup we were still going to the Olympics every other year and there wasn't really the demand for it and, look, the Olympics are the Olympics they will always be the #1 thing, but I think the demand is here for it now," said Friedman on the NHL broadcast. "Not just from the fans but I think from the players."
Friedman also dropped some pretty big names during this reveal, specifically naming stars like Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, and Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.
"Crosby and McDavid skated together last summer because they wanted to see what it would be like to play together. I think the Crosby era Canadians and the McDavid era Canadians wanna play together against the Kane era Americans and the Matthews era Americans. You don't think that those groups of players all want a shot at each other in a best on best with Ovechkin and Hedman and the likes there to try and ruin it?"
We haven't heard about the World Cup of hockey since the tournament in 2016 proved to be a disappointment, but I must admit I would love to see a tournament of this nature given the fact that we are once again being denied best on best at the Olympics. By the sound of it, the players in the NHL appear to feel the same way.
