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NHL players will officially return to the Olympics next year for the first time since 2014, after the league and the International Ice Hockey Federation finalized a long-anticipated agreement on Wednesday.
The deal is only for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, but it builds momentum for likely NHL player participation in the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps, too.
Even before the announcement, all 12 national ice hockey federations preparing to compete in the Olympics had already revealed the initial six players proposed to their preliminary rosters for the men’s ice hockey tournament.
Those 12 teams had also already been divided into three groups for Olympic play:
- Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, and France
- Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
- Group C: United States, Germany, Latvia, Denmark
Instead of an all-star game next season, the NHL will hold an international event that will kick off the Olympic break. Details of that event at UBS Arena on Long Island are to be determined.
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The NHL’s Olympic return will come one year after the league found incredible success around the debut of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which pitted teams from the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden against each other.
ESPN and TNT Sports were the U.S. broadcasters that benefited from the 4 Nations Face-Off, but it will be former NHL media-rights holder NBC Sports that cashes in on the new-look Olympic hockey.
Looking even further down the road beyond the 2026 and 2030 Olympics, Salt Lake City—which just got an NHL franchise this past season—will host the 2034 Winter Games.
