World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament schedule unveiled
They're squeezing as much blood out of this rock as possible.
The NHL has never been a big fan of the whole "Olympics" thing because of the whole "losing players without compensation for a month" thing. So Gary Bettman and company devised The World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that is sort of like the Olympics, except with way more positives for the NHL and far fewer of those pesky negatives.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the NHL is trying to squeeze as much out of this tournament as possible. There will be 12 pre-tournament games played as each team will get a pair of games in before the actual tournament begins. I've included the schedule below.
Training camp is expected to open Sept. 4-5 and the pre-season games will take place from Sept. 8-14. The Finals, a best of three series, will be completed by Oct. 1, 2016.
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Thursday, September 8
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Russia – Ice Palace; St. Petersburg
Start time TBD – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Team Sweden vs. Team Finland – Hartwall Arena; Helsinki
Noon ET/7 p.m. local – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Team Europe vs. Team North America – Videotron Centre; Quebec City
8 p.m. ET – ESPN2, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Friday, September 9
Team Canada vs. Team USA – Nationwide Arena; Columbus
7 p.m. ET – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Saturday, September 10
Team Russia vs. Team Czech Republic – O2 Arena; Prague
10:30 a.m. ET/4:30 p.m. local – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden – Scandinavium; Gothenburg
Noon ET/6 p.m. local – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Team USA vs. Team Canada – Canadian Tire Centre; Ottawa
7 p.m. ET – Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TBD
Sunday, September 11
Team Europe vs. Team North America – Bell Centre; Montreal
6 p.m. ET – Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TBD
Tuesday, September 13
Team Finland vs. Team USA – Verizon Center; Washington, DC
7 p.m. ET – ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Wednesday, September 14
Team Czech Republic vs. Team North America – CONSOL Energy Center; Pittsburgh
3:30 p.m. ET – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Team Sweden vs. Team Europe – Verizon Center; Washington, DC
7 p.m. ET – TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports 2
Team Canada vs. Team Russia – CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh
7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN2, Sportsnet, TVA Sports