Bill Daly confirmed on Wednesday that the Stanley Cup will not be held in Russia this summer because of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking in Denver ahead of Game 1 of the Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche, the assistant commissioner of the National Hockey League said officials informed both teams that their Russian players would have to wait before taking home the cup.
The tradition is that each player of the winning team holds a trophy for one day.
As for this summer, the cup will not go to Russia or Belarussaid Daly, stating that no one was excluded if the conflict ended.
It may happen like we did in the pandemic, but it won’t happen this summerhe warned.
Three Tampa Bay players are Russian: star forward Nikita Kucherov, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
Valeri Nichushkin and Mikhail Maltsev are the two Russian players on the Colorado side.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said teams could still sign players from Russia or Belarus in the next draft.
They will be fully eligible for selection, as they are every yearhe said about the players from these two countries.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
