When finally held in 1981, tournament organizer Alan Eagleson speculated it could be the last such event due to rising costs and disappointing attendance.
[6] 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.
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.
[11] 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.
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.
[13] Gretzky's pairing with Guy Lafleur and Gilbert Perreault was highly anticipated[14] (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.
[13] With 17 National Hockey League (NHL) players on their roster, Sweden felt confident they could upset the Soviet Union and Canada by utilizing a system of strong team play.
[16] With only five returning players from 1976 – when they reached the finals – and hurt by the defections of the Šťastný brothers (Peter, Marián and Anton) to Canada, the Czechoslovakian team entered the tournament in the midst of a rebuilding phase and were not considered contenders in 1981.
[17] The Americans, riding high following their gold medal victory at the 1980 Olympics, were considered capable of potentially upsetting the stronger teams in the tournament.
[18] As in 1976, Finland was expected to finish last in the six-team tournament despite the fact that the Finnish hockey association considered the team sent to Canada among the best their nation had assembled.
[21] At the Winnipeg Arena, a young Czechoslovak team battled the Soviet Union to a 1–1 draw in a game marked by rough play.
Finnish goaltender Hannu Lassila was the star of the game, however, as he made several difficult saves to keep the Finns close through two periods.
[24] Sweden attempted to employ a physical style against the Soviet Union without success, as they surrendered five power play goals in a 6–3 loss.
[28] Ending the third night of play, Czechoslovakia was able to overcome a late two-minute, two-man disadvantage to emerge with a 4–4 tie against Canada in a game that was described as the best of the tournament.
Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov was agitated following his nation's 7–3 defeat to Canada to end the round robin, while the Czechs had grown increasingly confident of their ability as the tournament progressed.
[44] The game was one of the worst of his career,[42] but Canada managed only four shots in the third period and never threatened the Soviets even though they entered the final 20 minutes down by only two goals.
[48] George Smith, a truck driver from Winnipeg, organized a fundraising campaign that raised enough money to create a replica trophy that was gifted to Soviet officials at their Canadian embassy.
[49] The replica was made despite a threatened lawsuit for copyright infringement by Hockey Canada president Lou Lefaive, but he later said, "If someone wants to send $11,000 worth of nickel to Moscow that's not my business.
"[50] Tournament organizer Allan Eagleson, lamenting the rapidly increasing costs of hosting such an event, speculated that the 1981 Canada Cup could be the last.
[54] Strong support in Montreal,[53] and the response in Ottawa after the games were moved to the national capital left Eagleson increasingly confident in the tournament's future.