The NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF jointly announced Friday its players will compete in the 2026 and ’30 Winter Olympics. It’s the first time NHL athletes have had the opportunity since ’14.
Before the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said it wouldn’t pay the travel, accommodations, and insurance costs for NHL athletes anymore, which it had been doing since the 1998 Olympics. On top of that, the league and its owners didn’t want to take a break during the post-NFL, pre-MLB sports calendar and 73% of U.S. fans were opposed to the idea, according to the NHL.
The NHL didn’t give its players an Olympic break in 2022 to compete in Beijing due to the large number of pandemic-related game cancellations and postponements.
NHL players will head to Milan, Italy, in 2026 to compete in their sixth Olympic Games. Professional athletes were allowed to compete starting in 1988, but the NHL didn’t send players until a decade later.
![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Dec 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; United States of America President Donald Trump, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney watch from the stands during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USATSI_27745262_168416386_lowres-scaled.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
