The NHL plans to organize an international event at UBS Arena, the home of the New York Icelanders, next February, which will replace the traditional weekend of the star match, a person aware of the situation revealed on Monday.
Posted at 3:04 p.m.
Stephen Whyno
Associated Press
This person requested anonymity to discuss with the Associated Press, since the League did not reveal their plans for the weekend which will precede the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games in 2026.
The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has already said on multiple occasions that the League wanted to reshape this event after the resounding success of the confrontation of the 4 nations earlier this year. The goal has always been to use New York as a springboard to Milan since NHL players will be able to participate in the Olympic tournament for the first time since 2014.
-“We are aware that the bar is high, and it is very well thus, without the shadow of a doubt,” said Bettman last week during a meeting with the sports officials of the Associated Press in New York. We want to make sure to mark the occasion … We will hold an event at the UBS before going to the Olympic Games. Then, we will organize a major event which will be focused on hockey the following year. »»
During the press conference for closing the annual assizes of the NHL Directors General last month, Bettman said: “We are re -evaluating our way of doing things, because I believe that we have raised the bar above than any other professional sport related to the stars match. So we want to make sure that, no matter what we will do, it will respect the standards we have established. »»
New York State governor Kathy Hochul has sent a letter to Bettman on Monday to tell her about her disappointment about the League’s decision to organize a promotional event for the Olympic Games rather than a weekend of the stars match, adding that this decision had been taken without consulting the state. Hochul added that she would like the League “presents a sporting event having similar or higher economic and cultural benefits (at the NHL Stars match) for the region in 2027”.
It could easily be a traditional weekend of the star match or something like, at UBS Arena, since nothing has yet been confirmed on this subject. The confrontation of the 4 nations including the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland was a success at the ticket office and exploded the listening ratings. The objective of this NHL initiative was to revitalize the mid-season festivities, and the NBA even planned to draw inspiration from the confrontation of the 4 nations for its own weekend of the Star Match.
