List of international ice hockey competitions featuring NHL players

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The following is a list of international ice hockey competitions where National Hockey League players have been able to participate. Most of these competitions were arranged by the NHL or 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 and 2005 IIHF World Championship. Canada won 9 tournaments. Czech Republic won twice. USA, Sweden and Soviet Union each won once.

Summit Series[edit]

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.

Year Winner Runner-up
1972  Canada  Soviet Union
1974  Soviet Union  Canada

Super Series[edit]

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.

Year 1st Team 2nd Team W L T
1976 CSKA Moscow NHL 2 1 1
1976 Soviet Wings Moscow NHL 3 1 0
1978 Spartak Moscow NHL 3 2 0
1979 Soviet Wings Moscow NHL 2 1 1
1980 Dynamo Moscow NHL 2 1 1
1980 CSKA Moscow NHL 3 2 0
1983  Soviet Union NHL 4 2 0
1986 CSKA Moscow NHL 5 1 0
1986 Dynamo Moscow NHL 2 1 1
1989 CSKA Moscow NHL 4 2 1
1989 NHL Dinamo Riga 4 2 1
1990 NHL Khimik Voskresensk 3 3 0
1990 NHL Soviet Wings Moscow 3 1 1
1990 CSKA Moscow NHL 4 1 0
1990 Dynamo Moscow NHL 3 2 0
1991 NHL Khimik Voskresensk 3 3 1
1991 CSKA Moscow NHL 6 1 0
1991 Dynamo Moscow NHL 3 2 2

Canada Cup[edit]

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

Year Winner Runner-up
1976  Canada  Czechoslovakia
1981  Soviet Union  Canada
1984  Canada  Sweden
1987  Canada  Soviet Union
1991  Canada  United States

Challenge Cup 1979[edit]

Year Winner Runner-up
1979  Soviet Union NHL All-Stars

Rendez Vous 1987[edit]

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.

Game Date Winner Runner-up Score
1st 11 February 1987 NHL All-Stars  Soviet Union 4–3
2nd 13 February 1987  Soviet Union NHL All-Stars 5–3

Ninety Nine All Stars Tour[edit]

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 for a total of eight games against mainly European competition, and playing games in five different countries.

World Cup[edit]

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

Year Winner Runner-up
1996  United States  Canada
2004  Canada  Finland
2016  Canada Europe
2028 "Future event"

Olympics[edit]

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.

Year City Gold Silver Bronze
1998 Japan Nagano  Czech Republic  Russia  Finland
2002 United States Salt Lake City  Canada  United States  Russia
2006 Italy Turin  Sweden  Finland  Czech Republic
2010 Canada Vancouver  Canada  United States  Finland
2014 Russia Sochi  Canada  Sweden  Finland
2026 Italy Milan / Cortina To be determined
2030 N/A Future event

IIHF World Championships[edit]

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, 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."

NHL Challenge[edit]

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.

Year Winner Opponent Score
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[edit]

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.

Year Winner Runner-up
2008 New York Rangers Metallurg Magnitogorsk
2009 ZSC Lions Chicago Blackhawks

KHL vs NHL games[edit]

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.

4 Nations Face-Off tournament[edit]

In 2025 the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off will consist of a total of seven games played during a nine-day period from February 12–20, along with two practice days, February 10–11, and will be held in two yet-to-be named North American cities, one in Canada and one in the United States. the countries participating in the tournament are Canada, Finland, Sweden and United States.

Year Winner Runner-up Third place Fourth place
2025

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]