I really don't get why people are so opposed of these ideas being tossed around.
This isn't meant to be a World Championship tournament, being run with a strict sense of national purity. Its an NHL-organized exhibition tournament being run to both make money, and market the NHL and its players.
If it were up to me, I'd accomplish those goals in two simple ways:
1) Include as many star players from the NHL as possible
2) Include interesting story lines within the tournament to keep the fans and media engaged
Now, lets assume that 5 of the teams will be made up of the 5 'major' hockey nations: Canada, Russia, United States, Finland, Sweden (hypothetical classification, not a political statement, don't want to argue if other countries are 'major' hockey nations right now, etc.). Lets say that leaves 3 more teams for an 8-team tournament. I see two major types of options:
OPTION A: Traditional
This would simply add 3 more countries to the mix, likely Slovakia, Czech Republic, and one of Germany/Switzerland/Denmark/Belarus, etc.
Would this include as many star players as possible?
No, because star players from countries outside the tournament wouldn't be able to play (Kopitar, Ehrhoff, Grabovski, Josi, Neiderreiter, Nielson, Boedker, Vanek, Zubrus, Zucarello, and most importantly, Girgensons). How would the tournament be better by excluding most of these players?
Would this encourage interesting story lines?
No, it would just look like every other International tournament where you would have 3 tiers of teams: 1) Teams that have a good chance of winning; 2) Teams that are less likely to win, but could pull an upset; 3) Teams that realistically have no chance.
OPTION B: Non-traditional
This would allow for some of the variation that has been tossed around in discussion. For the sake of this example, and considering the options that have already been brought up, here is how I will fill out my tournament:
1-5) Canada, US, Russia, Finland, Sweden
6) Slovakia & Czech Republic (combined)
7) All-Star Team of remaining countries
8) Young Guns team of players aged 18-22 from every country*
*this would mean that the rosters of teams 1-7 can only consist of players 23 or older
Would this include as many star players as possible?
Yes, it would. The best players in the world would be eligible with no restrictions on nationality. Additionally, the Young Guns team would be a draw for more serious NHL fans that would provide an extra chance to see some of their team's prospects in action. It would essentially be marketing the 'next generation' of NHL stars.
Would this encourage interesting story lines?
Absolutely. First of all, in terms of parity, teams 6 & 7 will have stronger rosters in this scenario for sure, and arguable, so would team 8. Having a stronger pool of teams will create more opportunities for close matchups and unpredictable results. There will also be interesting plotlines to follow with all 3 of these teams.
6) Interviews of players from Slovakia and Czech Republic to talk about their feelings on playing together, get some insight into how their families were affected by the former Czechoslovakia breaking up, human interest, yadda yadda.
7) You'd have to think that the teams from 'rejected' nations might have some additional motivation to prove their worth and be taken more seriously.
8) This team of young players probably have the most to gain from this situation, you would expect these young players to bring tons of energy of having something to prove. I think they are also a team that lots of fans would root for, and that many fans (myself included) would be curious about how well they could perform.
I see a lot more merit to Option B. I think its perfectly fine to disagree, but I don't think either of the two options is 'crazy' or 'insane'.
