NHL's return to the Olympics lives up to the hype and sets the stage for 2028 World Cup of Hockey

The long wait for the best hockey players in the world taking the ice in an international tournament lived up to the hype.

Four of the seven games in the knockout round at the Milano Cortina Olympics in Italy went to overtime, including the U.S beating Canada in a fast-paced, back-and-forth final for the gold medal. The sport earned the spotlight it got in the NHL's return to the Games following a dozen-year drought.

"This is as good as it gets," U.S. forward Vincent Trocheck said. "They've got to keep doing it."

That's the plan.

The league, union and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have an agreement to participate in 2030 in the French Alps, pending finalizing a deal with the International Olympic Committee.

But the next chance for best-on-best, country-versus-country competition is not that far away, as the World Cup of Hockey is set for February 2028.

The NHL and NHLPA are in lockstep on a lot of issues, including the aim of establishing an international calendar with this kind of tournament every other year. The IIHF is on board, too.

"The hockey world from NHL/NHLPA standpoint is in a better place when The Players' Association and the league are co-operating and, internationally, when these three organizations are collaborating the hockey world is in a better place," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

"And it gives us an opportunity to grow the game in places where we're not as strong as, say, we are in North America and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with (IIHF president Luc Tardif) in furtherance of growing the game. That's the goal, and the more things that we can figure out to do together, the better it will be for everybody."

This was the sixth Olympics with NHL players since the