Breaking News: 16 cities in the running for the 2028 World Cup

While the entire hockey world waits to find out how things will play out at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the NHL is working behind the scenes on their own "best on best" international event: The 2028 World Cup.

Today, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters that the league is deciding between 16 cities as the host of the event.

“We’re down to 10 North American cities, and six cities in Europe” said Daly after the NHL Board of Governors meetings wrapped Tuesday.

An announcement is expected “probably after the Olympics,” added commissioner Gary Bettman.

Daly confirmed that the league will run one pool out of a North American city and one pool out of a European city. Both the Semi-Final and the Final will be held in North America.

Sources said Las Vegas, Boston and Montreal were all among original bidders, while Daly couldn’t say whether any of them remain in contention to host the tournament.

On Boston and Montreal, which hosted the highly-successful 4 Nations Face-Off in February of 2025, Bettman said, “Obviously we’re aware of how well both cities supported the event.”

“But lots of cities are interested,” he added.

Eight teams will play in the tournament, but the nations have not yet been confirmed by the NHL.

Obviously we'll have heavyweights like Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Slovakia in the event but what about smaller hockey countries like Switzerland, Germany, Latvia and Denmark? Oh, then there's also the ongoing protests against Russia. Can we really call it 'best on best' if Russia isn't involved, though?

I bet Russia gets into the tournament and that the NHL choses Germany as its final team, as a way to promote Leon Draisaitl overseas.

Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia and Germany. Sound about right?