NHL players to participate in 2026, 2030 Winter Olympics
The NHL, in conjunction with the International Ice Hockey Federation, has announced that NHLers will participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympics.
It’ll mark the first time the league’s top stars have participated in the prestigious event since the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. NHLers haven’t participated in a best-on-best competition since Canada won the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The news comes after Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Boston and Montreal will co-host a four-team international event run by the NHL and NHLPA in 2025.
“Since I joined the NHLPA last February, it was clear how much our players embraced and support the opportunity to represent their countries in the Olympics,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said. “We can’t wait to see what the players can do at the next Olympic Games.”
The 2026 tournament marks the sixth time NHLers have participated in the Olympics.
“What’s a more important competition than the Olympic Games?” IIHF president Luc Tardif said. “I think the news will be happy for the young players who will have in front of them at least two Olympics games.
“We made it, for the benefit of ice hockey players.”
Italy is set to host the 2026 Olympics, 20 years after Sweden took gold in Turin. Canada, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and France are among the nations vying for the 2030 games, with the latter two being the only two not confirmed for the 2026 event.
Bettman said that while there’s lots of construction to still be done with the rink in Milan, the NHL has been assured that progress has been made and that it will be ready to go in time. The game will be played on NHL-sized ice.
Bettman also said the responsibility to pay for insurance, travel, and other associated costs for NHL player participation in the Olympics will fall on the IIHF.
Olympic qualification has already begun, with Serbia, Spain, and Estonia winning their respective Round 2 tournaments in December. Hungary, Great Britain, and Poland will host Round 3 events in February, with Slovakia, Latvia, and Denmark hosting the final round of action at the end of August.
Russia (2018) and Finland (2022) won the past two Olympics with no NHL participation. It’s unclear if Russia will participate in 2026, with the nation currently banned from IIHF competition due to the war in Ukraine.