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As the 2016 World Cup winds down, we wondered: Was the eight-team, best-on-best tournament a triumph for the sport? ?Our writers offered their thoughts.Well, first off define success. Did it make money for the National Hockey League and the players who organized the tournament? If its true that every ticket was sold then yes, that part of it was a success. Was the hockey good? Yes. I thought the World Cup featured more, better hockey than we saw at the Sochi Olympics, but nothing that compared to the hockey on display four years earlier in Vancouver at the 2010 Games.If success is measured in part by pure enjoyment of the product, then having Team North America dazzle us for three tournament games qualifies this World Cup as a rousing success. Europe, the other team that was made up just for this tournament, also far exceeded expectations if you want to add that to the success quotient.If success is also measured by sustained interest and buzz, then the tournament fell short. As the best-of-three finals opened between dominating Team Canada and upstart Team Europe, it appeared as though fans were weary as opposed to energized. The bottom line is you dont get to pick who succeeds at these tournaments (even though organizers did their best to pave a way deep into the tournament for Team USA). So the final matchup between Team Europe and Canada has seen the air slowly go out of the event at its pinnacle -- even though Team Europe provided a stern test for Canada in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals. Does that mean the tournament is a failure? Hardly. Its just less of a success than it otherwise might have been.--Scott BurnsideCanada needs competitionWhat qualifies this World Cup as a success or not? The NHL and NHLPA, I think, will make money. So theres that. Staging an entire tournament in one city over two weeks takes a whole lot of manpower, and for that I tip my hat the folks at the NHL Players Association and the NHL who worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to bring this thing together. A lot of them havent had a day off in months.The empty (although were told they were sold) seats for Game 1 of the World Cup finals, not to mention the tepid atmosphere, left a sour taste for me. A clip of Mario Lemieuxs winning goal from the 1987 Canada Cup played on the big screen during the game Tuesday night and you couldnt help but be struck by the juxtaposition of it all, the scenes of those delirious fans going out of their minds at Copps Coliseum almost 30 years ago compared with the lifeless crowd on hand at Air Canada Centre.Im not blaming the fans -- there simply is no rivalry or history between juggernaut Team Canada and the made-up Team Europe. Maybe thats just it. This tournament will be great again once we get a team to rival Canada, which I suspect will be Team USA next time around given the rising young American star talent. The NHL and NHLPA did a nice job of bringing this event back. A rousing success it was not. Ill give it a solid B-plus. -- Pierre LeBrunThe players clearly caredI look at this tournament and I see unrealized potential. I cant help but wonder what a USA-Canada final might have looked like. I also cant help but wonder if Team North America could have beaten Canada. Maybe not in a series, but man, would I have liked their chances in a one-game, semifinal-knockout opportunity. We would have seen fewer empty seats if one of those scenarios had materialized. What this tournament showed us is that there is real potential for a great World Cup for the ages, even if we didnt get that here. The players clearly cared. You saw it in the effort turned in by Sidney Crosby and his teammates. You saw it when the veterans on Team Europe buckled down and got serious at just the right time. You saw it in the red eyes of the Americans when they were eliminated. Ill leave this tournament thinking about what might have been and what might still yet to be at the next one. --Craig CustanceNorth America-Sweden was worth every pennyIve loved the World Cup. I think, from a hockey standpoint, that it was worth holding the entire tournament just to see that 3-on-3 overtime between Team North America and Sweden. Holy crap, that was amazing. Id be lying, however, if I said the air has felt so electric all the way through. I think thats a function of the artificiality of the event -- unlike those other non-invented sporting events found in nature -- and the fact that the World Cup isnt yet entrenched in the collective hockey mind.Time will improve its stature. I just hoped for more from Toronto. The surprise success of Team Europe changed the dynamic of the finals (and blame the Americans, not Europe, for being absolutely terrible and blowing the chance for a more compelling matchup), but Canada remains one of the great hockey teams ever assembled, even a perfect one. For that team to play in front of empty seats in a hockey capital is inexcusable to me. -- Chris JonesIt was great for the game -- at every levelI will watch hockey anywhere, anytime and at any level. It could be a youth, high school, college, junior, minor league or NHL game and I will pay attention. I love the game. For an entire month -- which included trips to Gothenburg, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Washington, D.C.; and Toronto -- Ive been spoiled by the best talent in the world during this tournament.The World Cup of Hockey is a good thing. Sure, it has some wrinkles, but this event needs to have a future no matter whether NHLers participate in the Olympics or not. I picked Sweden to win the World Cup championship and that obviously did not come to fruition. Being an American, I was hoping for a better outcome by Team USA. Team North America was like watching a bunch of kids play on the pond. It was exciting and actually brought me out of my seat once or twice. You have to love how Team Europe literally surprised the world and reached the finals against Team Canada. Speaking of the Canadians, this roster has to be one of the greatest collections of talent -- ever. After you take time to digest the entire process you will realize this tournament was great for the game of hockey at every level and it needs to happen again. -- Joe McDonaldJordan 1 For Sale Cheap . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Jordan 1 Retro Off White . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.saleairjordan1.com/jordan-1-retro-pinnacle.html ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Air Jordan 1 Retro For Sale .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Air Jordan 1 Retro Cheap . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1.Russell Knox admits he is desperate to win the FedEx Cup to prove he should have been given a Ryder Cup wildcard.Knox was overlooked by Europe captain Darren Clarke despite missing out on automatic qualifying by a single place and being ranked 20th in the world, comfortably higher than Clarkes choices of Thomas Pieters, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer.The 31-year-old is currently seventh in the FedEx Cup standings on the PGA Tour -- Henrik Stenson is the next highest European at 21st -- and therefore in contention to win the overall title and $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship, which finishes just five days before plays gets under way at Hazeltine.Its certainly motivated me for the next three weeks, thats for sure, Knox said. I have to use this as a springboard to try and win the FedEx Cup. Ive never wanted to prove someone wrong so badly in my life I think.Its not sour grapes or anything. Darren had an extremely difficult decision and all of those three guys were worthy of a pick.When Darren called me it was obvious within one second that is wasnt going to be good news. It was a very short phone call. I didnt feel like I needed to ask any questions or give my opinion on anything. It was obvious that he had made up his mind and that was final. I respected his decision.I was very disappointed not have gotten the nod. But Ill use this as motivation over the next three weeks.Clarke admitted he had wanted Knox to play in the Wyndham Championship a fortnight ago to try to qualify, but that Knox wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup.I hope the decision not to play Wyndham ultimately had nothing to do with it, maybe it did, but Im sure no one will ever talk about that, Knox added. Im happy with the decision I made, I felt it was the best one for me and I dont think it would have made a difference anyway.Its going to be difficult for me to watch [the Ryder Cup] but I probably will and Ill be rooting foor the team of course.dddddddddddd I wish them all the best and hope they win.Of course I feel like I deserve to be there and should be playing but Im not, so I have to respect the decision thats been made.Every year theres a guy in my position that doesnt get picked and its a story right now, but in a couple of weeks time when it all starts, Im sure itll be forgotten that Im not in the team.Clarke revealed he had suffered sleepless nights over his decision but ultimately found it impossible to leave Pieters off the team after the 24-year-old finished fourth in the Olympics and second in the defence of his Czech Masters title the following week, before winning in Denmark on Sunday.That call to Russell was as hard a phone call as Ive ever had to make in golfing terms, added Clarke, who played with Pieters for the first two rounds in Denmark and saw him shoot a 62 on Thursday.Partly because I knew how much of a disappointment it would be, because in 2008, I won two weeks before the qualifying finished and it was my second win of the year and I didnt get a pick. So I know how much I was hurting at that stage.With five rookies qualifying automatically, albeit one of them being Masters champion Danny Willett, Clarke had made no secret of wanting to balance the team with experienced players.But the 48-year-old insisted Westwood had not been selected because of the pairs longstanding friendship, adding: I selected him because he brings something that no one else can bring to the Ryder Cup. This is his 10th one.He will be somewhat like the general amongst the team. Anything he says, everybody sits up and listens.Yes, we have six rookies and yes, its not like any other tournament. But the experienced guys will do what we do in the European way by looking after the first-time guys. ' ' '