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An unlikely union of two major sports leagues and a players’ union headquartered an ocean apart is aiming to leverage the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics to maximum effect.
The NHL, NHL Players’ Association, and Italy’s Serie A have struck an agreement centered on the upcoming Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, described as a first-of-its-type between a North American sports league and one in Europe.
In the deal, the NHL/NHLPA European Player Media Tour—an existing annual event designed to promote the league in Europe—will be held Aug. 22 in Milan. That will be the day before the 2025–26 season opener for Serie A.
European NHL stars and Serie A players will also participate in a series of events and content-development initiatives to promote an often-unknown, but significant, connection between ice hockey and soccer, as well as the upcoming Olympics showcase in February.
“Many of our players grew up playing football, soccer, and many of them were really good at it and could have had big careers playing soccer,” NHL president of business Keith Wachtel tells Front Office Sports. “So the idea is to take these two entities, players from both, and just have some fun with it.”
The agreement arrived as the NHL, NHLPA, and International Ice Hockey Federation reached a deal earlier this month for NHL players to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics. That presence, arriving after an extended and sometimes-difficult negotiation, will be a key part of a reworked cadence of midseason hockey events. The plan calls for a series of international best-on-best competitions, including a return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028.
Italy itself is not a high-level NHL target for international marketing, Wachtel says, but Serie A, as one of the “Big Five” major European leagues in men’s pro soccer, holds an influence that extends far beyond the country’s borders. Serie A also opened a New York office in 2023.
“This really helps expand the global footprint and the reach of the NHL,” he says.
The NHL and Serie A separately use Supponor for virtual signage, serving as a key early link leading to the larger agreement. Another recent influence was a March 2025 jersey exchange between Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and Serie A legends Andrea Pirlo and Marco Materazzi.
