List of international ice hockey competitions featuring NHL players

Last updated

The following is a list of international ice hockey competitions where National Hockey League (NHL) players have been able to participate. Most of these competitions were arranged by the NHL or its union, the NHLPA. There have been 14 full international tournaments where it was possible for all NHL players to participate since the 1976 Canada Cup, dubbed as the first real World Championship. There are 5 Canada Cups, 3 World Cups of Hockey, 5 Winter Olympics, 1 Four Nations Face-Off tournament and many players have played in the annual IIHF World Championships.

Contents

National team competitions

Summit Series

The Summit Series was an eight-game challenge series between the Soviet National Team and a Canadian professional team.

In the 1972 Summit Series, the Canadian team was made up of NHL hockey players. No World Hockey Association players were included in the event. Two years later, Canadian WHA players competed in the 1974 Summit Series and were defeated by the Soviets. No active NHL players participated in the series; there were however, some former NHLers that played for the WHA-composed Canadian team in the series.

YearWinnerRunner-up
1972 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
1974 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada

Canada Cup

The Canada Cup tournament was a major international invitational competition for NHL players before the advent of the World Cup of Hockey.

YearWinnerRunner-up
1976 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
1981 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
1984 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
1987 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
1991 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the United States.svg  United States

World Cup

In 1996, the World Cup of Hockey replaced the Canada Cup.

YearWinnerRunner-up
1996 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
2004 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
2016 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Europe
2028 Future event
2032Future event

Olympics

Between 1998 and 2014, the NHL had a break in the season to allow its players to participate in the Olympics. In 2024, the NHL, along with the National Hockey League Players Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, have agreed to allow players to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Games after missing out in 2018 and 2022.

YearCityGoldSilverBronze
1998 Flag of Japan.svg Nagano Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
2002 Flag of the United States.svg Salt Lake City Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
2006 Flag of Italy.svg Turin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
2010 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Vancouver Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
2014 Flag of Russia.svg Sochi Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
2026 Flag of Italy.svg Milan / Cortina Future event
2030 Flag of France.svg French Alps Future event

IIHF World Championships

Since 1976, there has been no limit to how many NHL players countries can send to the IIHF World Championships, but the tournament is usually played during the NHL playoffs. Because of the NHL lockout in 2004–05, all NHL players were available to participate in the 2005 Championship. However, many players did not participate because they had not played for a full season, and were therefore not in "game shape."

4 Nations Face-Off tournament

In 2025, the NHL will host the 4 Nations Face-Off: a total of seven games played from February 12–20. The tournament will be held in Montreal at Bell Centre, and in Boston at TD Garden. The countries participating in the tournament are Canada, Finland, Sweden and United States.

YearWinnerRunner-up
2025 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Other competitions

Super Series

The Super Series were exhibition games between Soviet teams and NHL teams that took place on each NHL opponents' home ice in North America from 1976 to 1991. The Soviet teams were usually club teams from the Soviet hockey league. The exception was in 1983, when the Soviet National Team represented the Soviet Union. Soviet teams won 14 series, NHL teams won 2 series, and 2 series were tied.

In the following summary the winner of a series is in bold.

Year1st Team2nd TeamWLT
1976 CSKA Moscow NHL 211
1976 Soviet Wings Moscow NHL 310
1978 Spartak Moscow NHL 320
1979 Soviet Wings Moscow NHL 211
1980 Dynamo Moscow NHL 211
1980 CSKA Moscow NHL 320
1983Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union NHL 420
1986 CSKA Moscow NHL 510
1986 Dynamo Moscow NHL 211
1989 CSKA Moscow NHL 421
1989 NHL Dinamo Riga 421
1990 NHL Khimik Voskresensk 330
1990 NHL Soviet Wings Moscow 311
1990 CSKA Moscow NHL 410
1990 Dynamo Moscow NHL 320
1991 NHL Khimik Voskresensk 331
1991 CSKA Moscow NHL 610
1991 Dynamo Moscow NHL 322

Challenge Cup 1979

YearWinnerRunner-up
1979 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union NHL All-Stars

Rendez-vous '87

In 1987, two matches were held between the USSR and NHL All Stars in Quebec City, Canada in place of the annual NHL All Star Game. Each team won one game and the series was declared a tie.

GameDateWinnerRunner-upScore
1st11 February 1987 NHL All-Stars Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 4–3
2nd13 February 1987Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union NHL All-Stars 5–3

Ninety Nine All Stars Tour

During the 1994–95 NHL lockout the Ninety Nine All Stars Tour was created by Wayne Gretzky and some of his personal friends, who formed a team and toured Europe. Playing in five countries, they played eight games against mainly European competition.

NHL Challenge

Between 2000 and 2003, a select few NHL teams traveled to Europe to play exhibition games against top division teams in the Swedish and Finnish leagues.

YearWinnerOpponentScore
2000 Vancouver Canucks Modo 5–2
2000 Vancouver Canucks Djurgårdens IF 2–1
2001 Colorado Avalanche Brynäs IF 5–3
2003 Toronto Maple Leafs Jokerit 5–3
2003 Toronto Maple Leafs Djurgårdens IF 9–2
2003 Toronto Maple Leafs Färjestads BK 3–0

Victoria Cup

The Victoria Cup was an ice hockey tournament organized by the IIHF and intended for teams of the Champions Hockey League and the NHL. The inaugural Cup was a single game playoff between the 2008 IIHF European Champions Cup winners Metallurg Magnitogorsk and the New York Rangers of the NHL. It was held in Bern, Switzerland on 1 October 2008. The Rangers won 4-3.

The 2009 edition of the tournament featured the ZSC Lions, the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League winners, and the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL. The ZSC Lions defeated the Blackhawks 2-1 in the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.

YearWinnerRunner-up
2008 New York Rangers Metallurg Magnitogorsk
2009 ZSC Lions Chicago Blackhawks

KHL vs NHL games

Teams of the former Soviet league did not play against NHL teams after the Super Series ended until 2008, when the 2008 Victoria Cup took place in Bern. In 2010 NHL teams played their first games on Russian and Latvian ice since 1990.

List of national teams by titles won

This is a list of national teams that have won one or more international titles in competitions that included NHL or WHA players. As not all NHL players are eligible for the IIHF World Championships, those titles are not included in this table.

CountryOLYWCHCCOtherTotal
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 3242 [a] 11
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union ––12 [b] 3
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 1––1 [c] 2
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1–––1
Flag of the United States.svg  United States –1––1

See also

References

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