Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.36

www.afootinthecrease.com

It’s a discussion that’s been on going for at least a decade, some years on again, others it’s off again. Possible NHL expansion to Europe is a pipe dream to many executives associated with the NHL. Now in 2007, it’s a discussion that certainly appears to be on again. Earlier this week, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that a tournament will begin starting in 2008 which will involve two European teams and one NHL team competing for the Victoria Cup.

Whether this is the first step toward NHL expansion to Europe is still yet to be seen but what this tournament does represent is a landmark decision by the NHL to agree to an annual competition involving their European counterparts. Ideally, the IIHF would like to see the most recent Stanley Cup champions as the NHL entrant for this competition but the NHL has not promised this for the 2008 tournament. Until the full details of this agreement are announced, we will not know for sure why the NHL finally decided to agree to this sort of arrangement. Apparently there will be a financial incentive with prize money to be allocated accordingly to the results of the tournament. Whether this money will go directly to the team involved or to the NHL as a whole is also something we will find out in the months leading up to this tournament.

Likely though, there will have to be something sweet in it for the NHL participant. I can’t see any NHL team, especially the Stanley Cup winners to be eager to extend there season any longer than it already is. Considering the Stanley Cup is awarded in mid June and the Victoria Cup tournament is slated to take place in early September, it would give the participating team barely eight weeks off to rest and recuperate.

The caliber of hockey that we see will likely resemble a pseudo all star game with the NHL team still really in a training camp frame of mind. Safe to say the tournament still presents a lot of question marks. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.