NHL players puck-le up for Winter Games return

MIAMI — Players from the National Hockey League will compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games after a deal was reached between players, the league and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the NHL announced.

The deal, which has also been backed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), will see players from the top North American league on the Olympic ice for the first time since Sochi in 2014.

"The international composition of National Hockey League rosters is unparalleled, and NHL players take great pride in representing their countries," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement on Friday.

"We are pleased that, after intense collaborative efforts with the NHL Players' Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, we can formally announce that NHL players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympic hockey tournaments."

The IOC said that the French Alps are their preferred hosts for the 2030 Winter Games.

NHL players competed between 1998 and 2014, but no deal was put in place for Pyeongchang in 2018 or the COVID-hit Beijing Games in 2022.

The competition in Milan will take place on NHL-sized rinks, rather than the larger international surfaces.

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said that fans of the game will welcome the chance to see the world's best battle for the gold medal.

"We know that hockey fans worldwide have long been anticipating the next best-on-best international competition, and now they can finally see some of their favorite players represent their countries and line up together," he said.

'Turning point'

IIHF President Luc Tardif said that the agreement, which comes ahead of a possible bid from Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Games, was a boost for the sport.

"This decision represents a turning point for ice hockey at the global level and marks the great return of the NHL players to the Olympic Games," he said.

Nine countries have already qualified for the men's tournament — -Canada, Finland, Russia, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic and hosts Italy. The final three spots will be secured through qualification this year.

The NHL also announced a four-nation tournament for February 2025 — comprising Canada, Finland, Sweden and the US — that will feature only NHL players.

The tournament, called "Four Nations Face-off", will be held instead of an All-Star Game. This year's edition of the mid-season showcase is being played on Saturday night in Toronto.

Bettman said that the NHL was looking to participate in an international tournament every other year, with the World Cup of Hockey held in between Olympics.

"That's the cycle we're trying to get on, but we figured we'd try a little bit of an appetizer between now and then," said Bettman.

On Saturday, the IOC welcomed the deal, which "will lead to the participation of all the best ice hockey players of the world" at the next two Winter Games.

AFP