Historic change: Canada out of the legendary hockey tournament

Connor Hughes saved Canada with a goal in December 2025 at the Spengler Cup. Picture: Just Pictures GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

Canada’s the national team will not participate in hockey’s Spengler Cup this year. The ice hockey association of the country informs about it.

The Spengler Cup is a tournament played in Davos, Switzerland, which is played annually at the end of December. Both club and national teams usually participate in the tournament.

“Our long-term contract ended after the 2025 Spengler Cup, and a new contract has not been concluded in time. We are continuing discussions about participating in this top tournament in the future,” the association’s press release states.

Canada’s the national team participated in the tournament for the first time in 1984 and has won the tournament no less than 16 times. Due to the timing of the tournament, the team is usually made up of Canadians playing on European courts.

The home team HC Davos has collected the most Spengler Cup victories, which has won the tournament 17 times.

The Finnish winner in the tournament, which started in 1923, has only been seen once, when KalPa beat the Canadian national team in the final match of 2018.

In December 2025, HIFK participated in the Spengler Cup and lost both of their matches in the first group.