It's better to address the root cause of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms, particularly in the case of the NHL. The restrictions that can prevent players from participating in the WC have been increasing every year. Currently, these restrictions include:
- The player must be out of the playoffs.
- The player must not be in a contract year.
- The national team must pay a large amount of money for insurance.
- The player must not have any injury concerns.
These limitations significantly reduce the pool of available players, from 100 down to just 10 also added the fact that some players doesnt feel the need to go after playing 82 games of hockey in 9 months
Personally, I don't support the idea of adding players after the tournament has already begun. It would be better to field European players instead of flying someone across multiple time zones for just three games.
A new concept could involve the NHL shortening the season every four years to hold a WC in may with all players available, with 16 teams. In the years between, they could organize a European championship during the off-season with euro based players.
Alternatively, a more drastic approach would be to shut down the WC altogether and establish a European club hockey union that puts pressure on the NHL to allow players to participate. This idea is not fully thought out, but it could involve some form of boycott to make things difficult for the NHL.
Since attending the World Cup in Denmark in 2018, I haven't really been interested in it. Even then, my enthusiasm was somewhat lacking.