NHL players are set to make their return to the Olympic Games.
A final agreement was reached on Wednesday between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), confirming that NHL players will be permitted to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
This deal was largely anticipated and considered a formality, as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had indicated for months that player participation in the upcoming Games was expected.
Furthermore, the initial six players for all twelve men’s hockey teams participating in the tournament were announced last month.
NHL players did not compete in the two most recent Winter Olympics – PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018, and Beijing in 2022. A deal between the NHL and IIHF wasn`t finalized in time for the 2018 Games, and the NHL later withdrew from the 2022 Games due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its regular-season schedule.
Canada secured gold medals in the last two Olympic tournaments that featured NHL player involvement – Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart have been named as the first six players selected for the Canadian national team roster for the Olympic tournament, which is scheduled to take place from February 11th to 22nd, 2026.