MONTREAL — The World Cup of Hockey is returning beginning in February 2028, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday in a joint news conference with NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh.

Both sides reiterated that they are committed to sending NHL players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, meaning hockey will return to a cadence of best-on-best international competition every two years — with Bettman calling this month’s 4 Nations Face-Off between the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden “a sampler.”

NHL players have not competed in an Olympic Games since 2014. The last World Cup of Hockey was in 2016. Since then, many of the league’s top stars, including Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, have advocated for the opportunity to represent their countries in the prime of their careers.

“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries,” Bettman said. “We know the full blown World Cup is going to be sensational.”

Bettman said the league will begin accepting bids on host locations for World Cup of Hockey 2028 soon, and opened the door for European cities to make pitches.

The tournament’s format has yet to be determined, but Bettman anticipates at least eight teams. Unlike the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, there will not be “melded teams” such as Team Europe or a U-23 Team North America, but rather each team will consist of players from one country.

The IIHF is not involved in the tournament, Bettman confirmed, meaning it will be an NHL player-only event and federations cannot tap players competing in European leagues.

The biggest remaining question is whether Russia will be able to field a team. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the country has been banned from international play in all age categories by the IIHF. Earlier this month, the NHL and IIHF extended that ban through 2025-26, citing security concerns.

The NHL made a similar ruling for the 4 Nations Face-Off, excluding a Russia team that would have fielded some of the league’s top stars such as Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov, Artemi Panarin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.

Walsh said Russian players have told him they are passionate about returning to the world stage. He also said he has not heard of any other players who said they would not participate in an event if Russia were involved.

“I’d love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments. Again, they’re incredible hockey players,” Walsh said. “The issues are political and it is not political as far as the NHLPA, it’s the world politics that we have to get through and I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, as we get closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing the Russian athletes back in the competition.”

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN earlier this season that on the issue of Russia, the NHL often follows the lead and stays aligned with other international governing bodies. When asked what it would take for Russia to be involved in future events, Daly said: “I think the current status quo has to change and it has to change in a material way.”

The joint World Cup of Hockey announcement was yet another mark of an improved relationship between the NHL and NHLPA, which will soon begin formal negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current CBA expires in September 2026, but Bettman said he remains “more than optimistic” that there are not major issues to iron out, and that a new agreement could be announced as soon as this summer.

“All international competition that we do with NHL players is a joint collaboration and partnership with the Players Association,” Bettman said. “We now have a partner since Marty has been at the Players Association that has put us in a position collectively to execute these types of events, make these decisions for the long term. That hasn’t always been the case.”

MONTREAL — Sidney Crosby got a sellout crowd roaring with a no-look pass to Nathan MacKinnon for a slam dunk power-play goal in the first minute. Then he sent Canada fans home happy by assisting on Mitch Marner‘s overtime winner.

Sid’s not a kid anymore, but he showed he’s still got it at 37, getting three assists to beat Sweden 4-3 on Wednesday night in a thrilling opener of the 4 Nations Face-Off. It was just the latest masterclass by Crosby, a two-time Olympic champion who brought his best to the return of elite international competition featuring the NHL’s top players.

“It’s no coincidence is record of when he’s wearing a Canadian jersey,” coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s not a fluke. He will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country. If not, he’s going to be on the Mount Rushmore, for sure, of people that have thrown the Canadian jersey on.”

Fans who chanted the name of Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux during a pregame ceremony shifted to “Crosby! Crosby!” throughout the night and after he set up Marner’s goal 6:06 into 3-on-3 OT.

“As someone who loves to play in environments like that, I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, and to have an ovation like that here was really special and something I’ll always remember,” Crosby said.

Crosby and Connor McDavid were among the top skaters on the ice throughout. McDavid picked up the secondary assist on MacKinnon’s goal and was buzzing all over around Swedish defenders.

Brad Marchand also scored for Canada to incite cheers at the home arena of the Canadiens, where the Boston Bruins captain is far more used to being the villain. Of course there were a few boos when his name was announced, too, to keep with tradition.

And Marner, also usually not loved in Montreal because he plays for the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, got to bask in cheers — and the fact that his childhood idol set up the biggest goal of his career.

“You tell 13-year-old Mitch that he scored an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, the guy he looked up to since day one, it’s pretty crazy,” Marner said. “I really just tried to enjoy the moment after. The building was rocking, and it was nice to have them cheering for me instead of against me.”

Canada at times controlled the play, but goaltender Jordan Binnington struggled at times. Binnington, who had 23 saves, was beaten clean in the second by Jonas Brodin and in the third by Adrian Kempe. He was less at fault on the tying goal to Joel Eriksson Ek with 11 minutes left in regulation and made a spectacular sliding save to deny Mika Zibanejad early in overtime.

Sweden got some big saves in net from Filip Gustavsson, who stopped 24 of the 28 shots he faced and denied MacKinnon four times in OT in a hard-luck loss for the Swedes.

“In overtime there, he had some really good saves, even the whole game,” Brodin said. “He’s an unbelievable goalie and happy for him. He was great for us.”

Winning the first of three round-robin games did come at a cost for Canada, which lost defenseman Shea Theodore to a right wrist or forearm injury in the second period. Cooper said Theodore is out for the rest of the tournament, and Travis Sanheim figures to slot in after being a healthy scratch against Sweden.

That Canada was able to play the remainder of a game that lasted over 65 minutes down to five D-men was a testament to the others at the position.

“In a game like that at that pace, having five defensemen up and down the ice, I can’t say enough about what those guys did right till the end,” Binnington said. “It’s really tough to see Shea go down like that, but it happened and sometimes things happen like that and it’s how you handle it.”

The United States faces Finland in each team’s first 4 Nations game on Thursday night.

MONTREAL — Connor Hellebuyck will start for Team USA when they begin play at the 4 Nations Face-Off against Finland on Thursday.

The United States officially named Hellebuyck their No. 1 following Wednesday’s practice — a mammoth session that lasted well over an hour.

Hellebuyck was projected to get the call in net, with Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman vying for roles as his backup. The Winnipeg Jets goaltender is the NHL’s reigning Vezina Trophy winner and on track to potentially earn a second straight — and third overall — trophy on the strength of another excellent campaign.

Hellebuyck leads the NHL in wins — with a 34-7-2 record on the season — and paces NHL starters with a .925 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average. His elite play has been a decisive factor in Winnipeg’s emergence as the NHL’s top team with 81 points and a 39-14-3 record going into the 4 Nations break.

When the U.S. squares off with Finland, it will be Juuse Saros opposite Hellebuyk in net. Finnish coach Antti Pennanen confirmed Saros would get the call after Wednesday’s final workout. The Nashville Predators netminder is 11-23-6 this season with an .899 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average behind his struggling team, which owns the NHL’s third-worst record (19-28-7).

Canada previously named Jordan Binnington its starting goaltender for Wednesday’s opening matchup for Sweden, who will have Linus Ullmark in net. The 4 Nations tournament round-robin play will continue in Montreal through Saturday before the event flips over to Boston for a final slate of games.