Background
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) had complained for years that Team Canada faced a competitive disadvantage in international tournemnts as it was restricted from using its best players, who were professionals in the National Hockey League (NHL), while European teams masked the status of their best players. The issue came to a head in 1970 when International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Bunny Ahearne reneged on a promise to allow each team to use up to nine professional players at the 1970 World Championship. In response, the CAHA withdrew Canada from all international competition until the IIHF gave it the right to use its best players as the European teams could.
Around the same time, talks were begun to hold a friendly tournament between Canada's top players and the Soviet national team. These talks culminated in the Summit Series in 1972 that was narrowly claimed by Canada's NHL all-stars. A second Summit Series in 1974 saw the Soviets easily defeat the World Hockey Association's (WHA) top all-stars, but the two series created demand for a true best-on-best world championship. It was during the 1974 Summit Series that National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) executive-director Alan Eagleson began negotiations with Soviet and European authorities to create such a tournament. The negotiations, which grew to include the IIHF and Hockey Canada and lasted over two years, resulted in numerous agreements: Canada would return to international competition in 1977, the World Championships moved to an open format that allowed professionals to play and club teams of the Soviet League would tour North America and face NHL teams in what became the Super Series. The key agreement was the creation of the Canada Cup, to be held in 1976.
Having gained international approval, Eagleson then convinced the NHLPA's players to support the tournament with promises of increased pension contributions resulting from their participation. The NHL's owners supported the concept after agreeing that half of the proceeds from the games would go to them. Some teams remained uneasy, however. The Philadelphia Flyers were afraid their players might suffer injuries in the tournament and vowed that no player from their roster would be permitted to play. They were convinced to back down on their threats after being promised two games would be played in Philadelphia with the Flyers receiving their share of the revenue. Though the tournament was held in September so as not to interfere with the NHL season, league president Clarence Campbell remained skeptical of the tournament's viability, calling it "wasteful".
Read more about this topic: 1976 Canada Cup
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