🇫🇮 Niklas Bäckström Retires From Tappara At Age 41


Finnish netminder Niklas Bäckström, a key to the Leijonat goaltending corps since 1998, today announced his retirement from Tappara of the Liiga, joining the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as a European scout.
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🇨🇦 Roberto Luongo Retires After 19 NHL Seasons


Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo, the third winningest goalie in NHL history, only trailing Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, today announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 40.
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Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces Class Of 2019


The Hockey Hall Of Fame today announced the newest members that will join as the Class of 2019 on 15 November, with the most decorated women’s player in history, the first Iron Curtain star to defect to the west, and a pair of multiple Stanley Cup champions, who between them hold a number of International Hockey Lineal Championships, all to join the ranks of the Hall in Toronto.
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🇮🇹 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Announced As Host Of 2026 Winter Olympics


Today, during the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Italian bid of Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo was awarded the hosting rights to the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning the hosting rights over Stockholm–Åre, Sweden.
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🇫🇮 Riikka Sallinen Retires For Second Time At 46


Finnish forward Riikka Sallinen (previously Välilä, née Nieminen), an integral member of the Naisleijonat since 1989 who retired in 2003, but returned in 2013, today announced her re-retirement from professional hockey at the age of 46.
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🇨🇦 Jay Bouwmeester Joins Triple Gold Club


The only player eligible to join in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, defender Jay Bouwmeester tonight joined Triple Gold Club by virtue of winning Lord Stanley’s Mug with the St. Louis Blues, becoming the 30th male and twelfth Canadian to join the club, adding to his two World Championship and Olympic Gold medals.
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Major Announcements Made At 2019 IIHF Congress


The IIHF Annual Congress today was held on the off day at the 2019 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a number of major announcements voted on to impact the future of international hockey in the coming years.
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🇫🇷 🇦🇹 France, Austria Relegated From World Championship


Both relegation games at the 2019 World Championship came down to thrilling and surprising finishes, with Great Britain and Italy, both promoted from Division IA in 2018, upsetting France and Austria respectively to send them down to Division IA in 2020, while each punching their ticket back to the Top Division in Switzerland.
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IHLC Preview – 2019 World Championship


The finish of the international hockey calendar is set to begin on 10 May in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia, with the top sixteen hockey countries in the world meeting to compete at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
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🇷🇺 🇨🇿 Russia Wins Euro Hockey Tour, Czechia Wins Euro Hockey Challenge


With the conclusion of both the Euro Hockey Tour and Euro Hockey Challenge, as the season ends to ring in the start of the 2019 World Championship in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia, the winners of both the four-nation Euro Hockey Tour and 12-nation Euro Hockey Challenge have been crowned for the 2018-19 season.
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🇰🇿 🇧🇾 Kazakhstan, Belarus Promoted To 2020 World Championship


The Division IA World Championship tournament saw the return of two powerhouses to the Top Division in 2020, with Belarus and hosts Kazakhstan clinching spots for next year in Switzerland at the 2019 tournament in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
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🇩🇰 Jannik Hansen Announces Retirement Following Gagarin Cup Win


Danish winger Jannik Hansen, just one week removed from winning the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow, announced his retirement from pro hockey at the age of 33, ending the career of a trailblazer for Danish players in professional hockey both in North America and Europe.
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🇨🇿 Luděk Bukač: 1935-2019


Just days after the death of Ján Starší, who built the Czechoslovak national team into a dominant force in the 1970’s, the man who helped carry the Czechoslovakian team through the 1980’s and Czech team in the 1990’s has also passed away, as Luděk Bukač today died at the age of 83.
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🇫🇮 Venla Hovi Announces Retirement After Historic Worlds Silver Medal


Finnish forward Venla Hovi, only a day removed from Finland’s shocking silver medal finish on home ice at the 2019 Women’s World Championship, announced her retirement on Twitter at age 31, capping a year of both Worlds silver and a Clarkson Cup.
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