The NHL has opened the door for Russian players at its 2027 All-Star Game, clearing them to join the league’s Rest of the World team for the Feb. 6 showcase at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. The event will use a brand-new 3-on-3 format, with Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland and the Rest of the World team making up the five-team field.
That change matters now because the All-Star announcement arrived as the league keeps shaping its next international calendar. Russian players were kept out of the NHL-run 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, and they remain barred from IIHF events, including the 2026 Winter Games, under a prohibition that has stood since early 2022. For Russian players, the 2027 All-Star Game will be the first NHL-run showcase in years where they can be included by design, not by exception.
Bruce Cassidy is one of the names hovering over the league’s coaching market while this international picture is being drawn. He remains on the Golden Knights’ payroll through 2026-27, yet the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and possibly the Toronto Maple Leafs want to speak with him. His situation is a reminder that the NHL’s business never really pauses, even as it sets the stage for marquee events like this one and tries to manage the ripple effects of what happens on the ice.
The league is also walking a careful line. The Rest of the World team will use the NHL shield as its logo, but no Russian flag has been built into the tournament’s promotion. At the same time, the NHL Players’ Association surveyed members face-to-face in the fall about Russia’s place in best-on-best play, and union leader Marty Walsh said the players want their Russian peers back in competition. Bill Daly said the league is not ready to decide Russia’s role in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, and he made clear the NHL will watch how international bodies proceed before it commits.
That is where the friction sits: Russian players are being welcomed into an NHL all-star format while Russia itself stays out of IIHF competition and the next World Cup question remains open. IIHF officials are reconsidering their stance, but nothing is settled, and Daly’s comments suggest the league wants more clarity before it makes a call that could shape the 2028 event. For now, the NHL has answered the immediate question with a yes for Feb. 6, and left the larger one hanging.
