NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade.
The worldB次元官网网址檚 top hockey league will allow its players to participate in the Games in 2026 in Milan and in 2030 under an agreement announced Friday by the NHL, the NHL PlayersB次元官网网址� Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC.
NHL players have not been at the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi.
B次元官网网址淭here is a recognition of how important this is to the players,B次元官网网址� NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at a news conference during All-Star Weekend. B次元官网网址淓verybody felt on our ownership side that it was the right thing to do. B次元官网网址� This really came down to doing something because the players really wanted it.B次元官网网址�
IIHF president Luc Tardif smiled and said, B次元官网网址淲e made itB次元官网网址� after two years worth of work that picked up over the past six months.
Milan, barring another unforeseen circumstance like the pandemic that caused players to miss Beijing in 2022, will be the first Olympics for a generation of stars led by Canadians Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and Americans Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and Adam Fox. The tantalizing rosters could see the likes of McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard on the same team battling for gold.
B次元官网网址淓xtremely badly want to play in the Olympics,B次元官网网址� McDavid said Thursday. B次元官网网址淎ll these guys that havenB次元官网网址檛 had a chance to represent their country at a best on best, I think itB次元官网网址檚 something that weB次元官网网址檙e all hungry to do.B次元官网网址�
The NHL paused its season for the Olympics five times from 1998 through 2014, and most of the players now in the league grew up expecting to play on that stage. Disagreements over who would pay for insurance and travel costs, the time difference between South Korea and North America were cited as factors in the NHL passing on Pyeongchang in 2018.
Bettman said in 2026 and B次元官网网址�30, team owners will not be paying B次元官网网址渂ig ticketB次元官网网址� costs like travel and insurance. That is up to the IIHF and respective organizing committees. Tardif said national federations and Olympic committees will contribute.
Pandemic-related scheduling issues scuttled plans to send players to Beijing two years ago. As recently as this past fall, U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy said he was still upset about not being able to play in the 2022 Olympics.
B次元官网网址淭hat one took a while to get over,B次元官网网址� McAvoy said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e picking sizes for your Ralph Lauren outfit to walk around in the opening ceremonies. That stuff got real. It got really real. And you internalize it. It works as motivation. You want to be a part of that, and then you just lose it in a matter of seconds.B次元官网网址�
The upcoming international calendar will also include the B次元官网网址�4 Nations Face-OffB次元官网网址� involving the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland next year. It will take place in four cities, one in each country, with a total of seven games from Feb. 12-20, 2025.
B次元官网网址淭his marks a new era for international hockey,B次元官网网址� NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said. B次元官网网址淲e view this event as a building block to a larger World Cup.B次元官网网址�
Bettman reiterated that the NHL would like to get on a cycle of having an international B次元官网网址渂est on bestB次元官网网址� tournament every two years.
Hockey has not one of those since the World Cup in 2016, when McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews and Eichel played on the 23 and under Team North America, not Canada or the U.S. There hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a World Cup since, with RussiaB次元官网网址檚 war in Ukraine contributing to not being able to pull something together that would have been played this month.
Tardif said an IIHF council meeting is scheduled for next week to make a decision on Russian and Belarusian participation in the 2025 world championship.
The native of France also said the 2030 Olympics would be held in his home country, with hockey among the sports being played in Nice. The IOC is expected to make a host site announcement later this year and the French Alps are considered the favorite.
No matter where it happens, the Olympics are back on the schedule for the worldB次元官网网址檚 top players.
McDavid, a three-time NHL MVP and widely considered the best hockey player in the world, has been one of the most vocal players pushing for an Olympic return.
B次元官网网址淚 feel like itB次元官网网址檚 super important for hockey to go back,B次元官网网址� McDavid said. B次元官网网址淭alking about growing the game, doing all these things well, you got to have the best on best, play on the biggest stage in sport, and thatB次元官网网址檚 the Olympics.B次元官网网址�
It remains to be seen if Russia will be allowed to participate in 2026. The IOC is allowing individual athletes from the country to compete under a neutral flag but banned Russians from team competitions at the 2024 Games in Paris.
The Russians B次元官网网址� playing as the Olympic Athletes from Russia B次元官网网址� took home Olympic gold in 2018 with a stacked roster including former Detroit Red Wings winger Pavel Datsyuk and current Minnesota Wild All-Star Kirill Kaprizov. Finland is now the defending Olympic champion after winning in Beijing.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always been my dream and my goal to someday play in Olympics,B次元官网网址� FinlandB次元官网网址檚 Sebastian Aho said. B次元官网网址淚 grew up playing with them on the junior national team, so it would be very special to try a tournament with those guys and play hockey when itB次元官网网址檚 best on best.B次元官网网址�
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