It was Aftonbladet that was the first to announce that Vancouver's Elias Pettersson and Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin will miss the World Cup. The most startling reason concerns Pettersson, who is stopped from playing.
Sweden's scoring king in the NHL this season (102 points in 80 games) is not injured or worn out, but is forced to decline due to an insurance issue. Pettersson's contract expires next year and in the autumn he is expected to sign a new contract.
In Pettersson's case, insurance is needed for both his current contract and the upcoming one. In total, it would cost the federation over five million SEK, according to information to SVT Sport.
Injury stops Dahlin
The Ice Hockey Federation can insure the existing agreement – where they are supported by the International Ice Hockey Federation, IIHF, which contributes about SEK 230,000 per player – but not the upcoming agreement.
For Rasmus Dahlin, it's an injury that haunts.
The World Cup is played in Finland, Latvia. Sweden's first match is against Germany and will be played on May 12.