NHL participation in 2018 Olympics on hold

TORONTO — NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics is on the back burner until the league, players’ association and International Ice Hockey Federation firm up plans for the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

After a meeting during Hockey Hall of Fame weekend in November, the sides still have some things to iron out before this is a done deal.

Rene Fasel said one of the “open questions” had to do with the seventh and eighth teams that will take part. Beyond Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, the plan appears to be to have a European all-star team and another made up of North Americans — perhaps younger players.

“To be very honest, I like the idea,” Fasel said. “That can be really very, very interesting for the hockey fans. That could be something. We don’t know yet what we’re going to do, but personally I like it very much.”

Fasel said having the No. 7 and No. 8-ranked national teams (in 2014 it was Switzerland and Slovakia) would be “déjà vu” because that’s how it is at the Olympics and world championships. There were 12 teams at the Sochi Olympics: the so-called big six, and Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia and Austria.

There were 16 teams at the 2014 world championships: Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, host Belarus, Latvia, Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Denmark and Kazakhstan.

The World Cup of Hockey would be an NHL production, held in Toronto in the fall of 2016. The tournament will reportedly have eight teams, but questions remain about how the seventh and eighth would be determined.