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Report: Daly, Fehr to meet with IIHF (possibly about games in Europe, return of World Cup)

Bill Daly

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA chief Donald Fehr are traveling to the hockey hotbed of Portugal to meet with the IIHF on Thursday, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Why are they doing that? A possible answer, from Dreger’s report:

Whether discussed at this meeting or not, there’s a growing sense of urgency in determining the NHL’s plans to continue to expand its European profile.

While it’s not CBA related, the NHL and NHLPA did agree to work together to send four NHL teams back to Europe next fall for regular season games. Sources say there has been little progress in planning the NHL’s return and time may be running out. NHL clubs are already making plans for their 2014 training camps and preseason games and the marketing impact required may suffer because of the loose ends.

The World Cup of Hockey is also on the list of items that IIHF executives would like to discuss this week.

Last week, it was reported that the NHL had plans to add $1 billion in revenue over the next three seasons, in part through an increased presence in Europe, as well the return of the World Cup.