PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Elias Pettersson had already accepted the hockey WC.
But now comes the nightmare news for Tre Kronor.
The Swedish NHL star is stopped from the WC because of a crucial detail, Sportbladet reports.
The Hockey WC is just around the corner and Tre Kronor is on the way to putting together a really strong WC squad. On Wednesday, it became clear that the Swedish NHL players Rasmus Sandin, Lucas Raymond, Jakob Silfverberg, Alexander Nylander and Jonathan Berggren has agreed to play for the national team.
Suspended from the WC
Even the NHL superstars Rasmus Dahlin and Elias Pettersson is said to have accepted but it has not been made public yet. But now comes the big turn for Pettersson that changes everything.
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Because even though he agreed, the star forward who reached over 100 points in the NHL this season is now stopped from playing in the hockey World Cup. The last detail that remained was that the Swedish Ice Hockey Association would agree with the Vancouver Canucks about the insurance issue during the world championship.
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Elias P too expensive
Ever since the NHL season ended, Elias Pettersson has been positive about World Cup games and he has also spoken with the Swedish national team captain Sam Hallam, both have a past together in Växjö Lakers. Now comes the tough news that there will be no hard-shooting NHL star in the Swedish WC squad, reports Sportbladet.
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The Swede earns SEK 80 million per season in the NHL and is about to sign a new contract for next season. The cost of insuring him during the hockey World Cup will therefore be far too expensive for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
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The insurance would cost as much as SEK 2-3 million, according to information given to the evening newspaper. Thus, Tre Kronor is forced to turn down Elias Pettersson and they have already informed the Vancouver Canucks that they cannot afford to pay the player’s insurance.
– I have a line that I only talk about the players who agreed to the WC. Unfortunately, says confederation captain Hallam in a statement.
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