The Ice Hockey World Championship is fighting against the loss of importance with superstars like Sidney Crosby

When the Ice Hockey World Championship begins on Friday in Stockholm and the small Danish town of Herning, there will be no shortage of attractions. Host Sweden has been waiting for a place in the finals since 2018 and is fielding a host of top players. Canada can count on Nathan MacKinnon, the third-best scorer in the recent NHL qualifying phase, and the now 37-year-old global star Sidney Crosby.

For the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), these are highly welcome protagonists, as the annual A World Championship is by far its most important source of revenue. It's unfortunate that the tournament is increasingly losing importance. There has always been enormous fluctuation in quality—this is unavoidable for an event that takes place during the NHL playoffs.

But the pressure will increase, at the latest from February 2028, when the NHL will reactivate the "World Cup of Hockey" on European soil and, as during the Olympic Games, suspend the championship. This means that all nations will compete with their best teams, presumably alternating with the Olympic tournament on a four-year cycle.

This is nowhere near the case at the World Cup. The USA, for example, has more than 300 NHL professionals, but will compete in Herning with half a dozen college players. It's a trend that's likely to become even more pronounced; it wouldn't be surprising if the 2028 World Cup in Paris and Lyon, just three months after the World Cup of Hockey climax, turns out to be the weakest-field World Cup of the 21st century.

One person concerned about the World Championship institution is René Fasel. The 75-year-old Freiburg native served as IIHF President for almost three decades until fall 2021. He now told the trade magazine "Slapshot": "The future of the World Championship is in grave danger. Fundamental considerations must be made. 16 teams are probably too many. And three tournament weeks too. Scheduling is becoming increasingly difficult. Currently, the World Championship starts in the second week of May. The NHL regular season ends in early April. How many players are willing to stay fit for a World Championship that long? Reforms are needed."

These are tasks for Fasel's successor, Frenchman Luc Tardif, who will also have to moderate negotiations with the NHL regarding the World Cup of Hockey. It's still unclear which venues are being considered, which teams will compete, and what the compensation formula will be.

This year's World Cup, however, will not be overshadowed by these worries. Crosby's confirmation is a particular blessing for this tournament. Crosby, 37, is a three-time Stanley Cup winner and one of only 30 members of the illustrious "Triple Gold Club," which is only open to those who are not only NHL champions but also have at least one World Cup and one Olympic gold medal hanging above their marble dining table.

When Crosby was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, he was considered something like Wayne Gretzky's rightful heir. Expectations were sky-high, and they could have become a burden. But for years, Crosby became an NHL superstar, a model professional who became the poster boy of a new era: With him, the NHL shed its bad-boy image; the brutal fights gave way to wit, speed, and spectacle. One fact really says it all about his status: that the professionals on the other 31 teams were free to play with his jersey number, which no one does out of respect for Crosby—he's the only number 87 in the league.

It's become rare for a player of his status to enhance a World Cup—especially one from North America, where the tournament receives little attention. No World Cup tournament has been held in North America since Quebec in 2008—there's little point in competing for the spotlight with the NHL playoffs.

Crosby himself hasn't played in a World Cup since 2015. But the center, notoriously ambitious, is likely simply tired of disappointments: Crosby has been miserably let down by the Penguins' management in recent years. Since he last won the Stanley Cup alongside Mark Streit in 2017 , Crosby hasn't won a single playoff series with Pittsburgh. That's quite an achievement considering the Penguins boast two superstars in their ranks: Crosby and Russian Yevgeny Malkin.

The Penguins' prolonged slump isn't Crosby's fault. With 1,687 points, he now ranks ninth on the list of all-time leading scorers in NHL history. He's only 36 points behind Mario Lemieux, his predecessor as Pittsburgh's king. During his early years with the Penguins, Crosby played alongside Lemieux. It's unclear how long he'll continue playing; his contract runs until 2027. That's plenty of time to overtake some of the long-retired players before him. Only Gretzky's record of 894 goals and 1,963 assists stands as a permanent fixture.

In February, Crosby competed for Canada in the "4 Nations Face-Off," a kind of World Cup precursor. Canada's triumph seemed to revitalize the veteran star. He said: "When I don't skate for a while, I notice it. I feel worse after long breaks. It was different when I was younger." Without participating in the World Cup, Crosby would have gone almost half a year without a competitive game before his 21st NHL season.

With him, record world champions Canada are, alongside Sweden, favorites for gold. And if they knock out their overwhelmed opponents one by one, it will be welcome images for the organizers to highlight the ailing World Cup structure in a favorable light.