1981 Canada Cup

The 1981 Labatt Canada Cup was the second best-on-best ice hockey world championship and involved the world's top six hockey nations. Tournament games were held in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa. The Soviet Union defeated Canada in a single game final to win its first title by the score of 8–1. Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak was named most valuable player. Canada's Wayne Gretzky led the tournament in scoring with 12 points.

This second edition of the Canada Cup was originally scheduled to be held in 1979 but was postponed due to disputes between the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. It was postponed a second time in 1980 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Canada's boycott of sporting events with the Soviet Union as a result. When finally held in 1981, tournament organizer Alan Eagleson speculated it could be the last such event due to rising costs and disappointing attendance. Eagleson generated additional controversy when he refused to allow the Soviets to take the Canada Cup trophy with them to the Soviet Union.

At its congress in the summer of 1978, the International Ice Hockey Federation approved proposals to hold the second and third Canada Cup tournaments in 1979 and 1982. However, tensions between Canada's rival governing bodies, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and Hockey Canada, increased after the latter body accused the CAHA of reneging on promises it had made regarding Hockey Canada's control of international events involving professional players. Hockey Canada's chief negotiator for international events, Alan Eagleson, accused the CAHA of attempting to sabotage the Canada Cup and threatened to cancel the tournament if the CAHA refused to compromise with his body.

The tournament was put in further jeopardy in January 1979 when General Motors withdrew as a major sponsor; Eagleson argued GM withdrew as a result of the dispute with the CAHA. The disputes put the two bodies on the verge of severing all ties, a move that would have led to Hockey Canada refusing to release any professional or university player to any of Canada's national teams. The tournament was ultimately postponed by a year until September 1980.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 and threatened boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow led organizers to consider again postponing the Canada Cup. While Eagleson initially favoured allowing the tournament to go ahead regardless of the political situation, he ultimately agreed that Hockey Canada should again postpone the Canada Cup after the Canadian Government joined the Olympic boycott. A brief effort to move the tournament to Sweden was quickly put down when Eagleson informed them that neither Hockey Canada nor the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) would participate in such an event.

Undaunted, Eagleson and IIHF president Günther Sabetzki announced that the tournament had again been rescheduled for September 1981. This time, the tournament went ahead as scheduled.

The Soviet Union treated the 1976 Canada Cup with disdain, but entered this tournament intent on re-asserting themselves following their upset loss to the United States at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They were led by the "KLM Line" of Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov, and Sergei Makarov on offence, as well as Viacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov on defence, with the venerable Vladislav Tretiak in goal. Featuring a strong mixture of veterans and young players, the Soviets entered the tournament as favourites.

Canada brought a considerably younger team to the 1981 Canada Cup compared to their 1976 entry. Three defencemen – Ray Bourque, Paul Reinhart, and Craig Hartsburg – were under the age of 22, while 20-year-old Wayne Gretzky was expected to be the offensive catalyst. Gretzky's pairing with Guy Lafleur and Gilbert Perreault was highly anticipated (and they would combine with each other on 22% of Team Canada's goals), while the New York Islanders quartet of Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Butch Goring, and Clark Gillies were also expected to be offensive leaders.