That appears to be the consensus reached by the NHL's Board of Governors following the return of the major international tournament this past September.
"The final take is I think everybody in the room believes, as do we, that we were able to re-establish this event in a very big, major way," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday following a series of board meetings, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
"It was very successful. There are a variety of things that we're focused on to do it even better the next time we do it, whenever that might be. I think people were pleased with it, understanding that it's a very small part of our business, but we think it's important when we can to focus on events like that."
Bettman added board members prefer the timing of the World Cup to that of the Olympics, seeing as the former took place during the preseason whereas the latter requires a midseason shutdown. As such, 2018 Olympic participation remains in doubt, with NHL owners expressing "strong negative sentiment" about it Thursday.
As for the September event, some concerns were raised about injuries suffered in advance of the regular season, and there are questions as to whether the format of the tournament will change.
For now, plan on another World Cup being played sooner than later.
It's never too early to start thinking about the offseason.
Here are five forwards who will likely command a great deal of attention as unrestricted free agents in 2017, provided they're not signed to extensions before July 1:
Alexander Radulov
The Montreal Canadiens took a bit of a chance by signing Radulov to a one-year, $5.75-million contract in the offseason, but it's proven to be a shrewd move on the part of general manager Marc Bergevin.
Through 25 games, his five goals and 16 assists puts him second on the Canadiens in points, and he's helped fill the void left by P.K. Subban as a fan favorite.
Montreal will likely try to lock him up before he hits the open market, but should he indeed become an unrestricted free agent, there's sure to be greater demand this time around.
Joe Thornton
In the midst of the final season of a three-year, $20.25-million extension signed in 2014, Thornton's tenure with the San Jose Sharks could be coming to an end.
The veteran center has been everything the club hoped he'd be upon being acquired from the Boston Bruins 11 years ago, averaging over a point per game and helping the club reach its first Stanley Cup Final last spring.
With two goals and 14 assists in 27 games, his production is a bit down this season, but Thornton remains as reliable a playmaker as they come, and will have plenty of suitors as a UFA.
Sam Gagner
The Columbus Blue Jackets added Gagner to the mix on a low-risk one-year contract that carries a $650,000 salary cap hit, and he's upping the value of his next deal on a nightly basis these days.
The 27-year-old center has 11 goals and eight assists as a Blue Jacket, putting him on pace for 37 goals and 64 points, numbers that would smash his previous career highs.
Sam Gagner has 11 goals in his last 19 games. His last 11 goals prior came in a 71 GP span between Feb 28, 2015-Oct 27, 2016 (PHI, ARI, CBJ)
The Blue Jackets have several burdensome contracts in their forward ranks and won't be able to retain him at a reduced rate. Gagner is in line to cash in, and probably won't have to wait until August to sign this time around.
T.J. Oshie
The Washington Capitals traded for Oshie prior to last season with a view to complementing their core with scoring depth, but also with the knowledge that his contract would expire at the end of this season.
He helped the club to a first-place regular-season finish in 2015-16, but, despite Oshie's six goas and four assists in 12 playoff games, the team once again fell short of its ultimate goal.
Oshie has 35 goals and 30 assists in 99 games with the Capitals, but whether he fits in the team's long-term plans remains to be seen, and GM Brian MacLellan will almost certainly prioritize re-signing younger restricted free agents Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Dmitry Orlov.
Auston Matthews is showing some love to Harambe this holiday season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie shared an Instagram photo Thursday of him rocking a Harambe-themed ugly Christmas sweater, featuring an image of the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla with a halo above his head.
On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers showed off the uniforms they'll don for the Stadium Series game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field on Feb. 25, 2017.
Flyers forwards Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek modeled the new duds, which will also be worn when the Flyers host the Penguins on March 15.
The jerseys feature a patch honoring the Flyers' late owner, Ed Snider, on the left shoulder.
Following the Chicago Blackhawks' 1-0 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Friday, the veteran forward sounded off on the offside review rule, implemented last season.
"Well, obviously that's a tough one. I mean, I didn't notice it was close to offside but obviously with today's technology, with this new rule, it's a game of inches," Hossa told Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. "It's slowing the game down, I think. You're getting confused, what exactly the coaches are looking for."
Hossa, of course, scored midway through the third period only to have it overturned by an offside review call initiated by the Rangers.
"(The NHL) created this new rule and we just have to deal with it," Hossa added. "But sometimes it's more frustrating because the league wants to increase the scoring and right now, I think more goals are disallowed because of this."
You'd be hard fought to find Marcus Johansson's name among those listed. It's time to make a revision.
With 12 goals on the season, Johansson has found the back of the net as frequently as team captain and goal-scoring machine Alex Ovechkin, who co-lead the team. And with 21 points, Johansson trails only Nicklas Backstrom's 24 points for the team lead in scoring.
In a season where center Evgeny Kuznetsov has failed expectations, Johansson has made his home up the middle as a front-line scoring threat.
Consistency has long been the name of Johansson's game, averaging 46 points in each of the past three seasons. Going back five years, Johansson has produced at 0.59 points per game. This year, he's reached a new level, as that number has climbed to 0.81.
As well, Johansson's five game-winning goals leads the Capitals and sits just one back of Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter for tops in the NHL.
So what's changed?
Most importantly, Johansson has taken to heart the instructions of coach Barry Trotz. That is, go to the net. The veteran bench boss believes many of his players have been guilty of overthinking the game. In short, keep it simple.
"I think all (Johansson's) goals are in the house that everybody talks about, close to the net," Trotz told J.J. Regan of CSN Mid-Atlantic. "If guys aren't scoring, you're probably not going to find them there."
No doubt Johansson is relishing the results.
"If you stay with it and you go to the net," Johansson said, "I think a lot of the times it's going to bounce your way in the end."
Once again, Antti Raanta didn't dispel the notion that he's unassailable when in Chicago.
With a 26-save shutout sealed with Nick Holden's overtime winner Friday night, the New York Rangers backup improved his career record at United Center to 15-0-3, as pointed out by StatsCentre.
Raanta, who worked under Corey Crawford for two seasons, has a career .945 save percentage in his 20 appearances at the Chicago barn, but just a .918 mark for his career.
It must be the sight lines.
Anchoring back-to-back wins, Raanta's Rangers now have as many points as the first-place Montreal Canadiens.
