NHL and NHLPA executives are expected to announce on Friday the details of the rekindled World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that

NHL and NHLPA executives are expected to announce on Friday the details of the rekindled World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that will feature eight teams, including two unconventional ones. Kevin King Super Bowl Jersey . Besides Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Finland, the league and union will announce a European All-Star team will participate. That team will be stocked with players who come from countries other than those participating as nations. Also, the tournament will feature a team with North American players under the age of 23. An executive with an NHL sponsor confirmed the details to TSN. The tournament will also feature a best-of-three final, which will help to drive up the broadcast and sponsor rights for the tournament both in North America and Europe. The National Hockey League and its players association have told team executives they hope to generate between $75 million and $100 million from the rekindled World Cup of Hockey. A person familiar with the matter told TSN that the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in September 2016, will raise about half its revenue from the sale of broadcast and internet streaming rights. The NHL and NHLPA have predicted those rights may garner close to $50 million. Its a gamble to spend so much on a tournament like the World Cup when theres no guarantee Team Canada will advance beyond the round robin portion. But if it does, there could be a big payoff in TV ratings. The final of the World Cup will be a best-of-three format, TSN has learned. Besides TV rights, the NHL and NHLPA will also sell sponsorship rights to the World Cup. They anticipate selling to eight premier corporate sponsors and negotiating deals of at least $1.5 million in each category, a source told TSN. The NHL and NHLPA will also garner revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, its expected that the NHL and the Players Association will have to pay Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment at least $5 million for hosting the three-week tournament. While executives with the Montreal Canadiens wanted to host some of the World Cup games at the Bell Centre, the NHL and its players union decided to host all of the games in Toronto. That way, if the tournament is a success, they could auction off the rights to host the games in 2019, perhaps, to the city that offers the best revenue guarantee - be it Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Moscow, or another city. To be sure, there are still many unanswered questions about how much profit the NHL and players union will generate from the World Cup. They need to pay for insurance for all of the players. Typically, the NHL and the Players Association buy premiums that offer better coverage than simply career-ending policies. Payouts are rare, but they do happen. The Islanders John Tavares, for instance, was covered by an insurance policy when he was injured during the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Sochi, Russia. The Islanders were compensated by an insurance company for the time he missed. Its unclear how much insurance will cost the NHL and NHLPA. Then Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said last August that it would cost at least $1 million simply to pay for insurance for the 47 Canadian players invited to Team Canada workouts in advance of the Winter Olympics. NHL player agent Allan Walsh said some NHL players have been skeptical over whether its a good idea to steer away from the national team concept. Some players believe this should be limited to players playing for their country, Walsh told TSN. What are you playing for if its Team Young Guns or European All Stars? What are you playing for? Thats a problem. Its an issue. Walsh said featuring a young guns team particularly could lead to lopsided scores. The downside is that team gets pounded, Walsh said. I dont think it would have an impact on the players psychology or career - just an impact on the legitimacy of the team in the tournament, when people sit back and say whether this kind of team was a good or bad idea. Still, Walsh and other agents said there could be a great payoff for the league from marketing a team built around young stars like Nathan McKinnon, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin. Walsh said that while some fans have called for the NHL and NHLPA to include teams from Slovakia or Slovenia, that might not be practical, since the tournament is run by the league and its players association - both of which want to use the event to build the profile of their own players, not those playing in leagues overseas. Raven Greene Super Bowl Jersey . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R. Brett Favre Super Bowl Jersey . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/corey-linsley-youth-jersey.html . Nine years later, he might have finally figured it out. He had only five rounds in the 60s in his previous eight trips.Every day leading up to the eve of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, TSN.ca will be previewing one of the eight participating groups. Today, the previews begin with Group A featuring Neymar and the host Brazilians, Samuel Etoos Cameroon, Luka Modric and Croatia and Mexico with Javier Hernandez. Check back on Tuesday for Group B. All eyes will be on Group A as it features the home team in Luiz Felipe Scolaris Selecao. After triumphing in last summers Confederations Cup, expectations for a Brazilian side featuring the likes of Oscar, Hulk and David Luiz will be high and the pressure will be even higher. Can they cope with it? Click here for the Brazil team preview An argument can be made that Cameroon is more than fortunate to simply be going to Brazil at all, but even if the Indomitable Lions were the beneficiaries of some good luck (and Togos bad luck), can they ride it to claim a spot in the knockout stages? Click here for the Cameroon team preview Niko Kovac played in two World Cups himself and now gets to coach in his first, leading an offensively talented Croatia side to Brazil. Darnell Savage Jr. Super Bowl Jersey. nbsp;How will Croatia contend with playing in the tournaments opening match against the host Selecao? Click here for the Croatia team preview After a qualifying campaign that almost ended in disaster, Mexico, somewhat improbably, heads to its sixth-straight World Cup. What changes will Miguel Herrera make to his midfield following this past weekends gruesome injury to Luis Montes? Click here for the Mexico team preview ' ' '