We Now Know When NHLers May Return to the Olympic Games
It's been 10 years (2014) since we've seen NHLers participate at the Olympic Games, producing a true best-on-best hockey tournament. A new report suggests that may be changing in the near future.
NHLPA
In an interview with ESPN, the head of the NHL Players Association said his focus is getting players back to the games as soon as 2026 in Italy. Marty Walsh made it clear it's a priority for him and his members.
Canada's gold-medal winning team from 2014. Photo: CBC
Olympic History
After allowing players to compete in five straight Winter Olympics, the NHL opted not to send them in 2018 citing a major disruption to the league's regular season. After negotiations between the players and the NHL it was announced NHLers would return to the Olympics in 2022. However, the league reneged on that citing the huge disruption that COVID-19 had caused in the previous two years. Several players were unhappy with that stance.
The Elephant in the Room
One major issue for a true best-on-best hockey tournament is, of course, Russia. The NHL wanted to hold a World Cup in 2024, but backed out after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The NHL recently said they were hoping to hold the event in 2025, but it seems doubtful the Russia-Ukraine war will be over by then, and even if it is, there will be plenty of damage to repair on the world stage. We may see Russia shutout of the 2026 Winter Olympics as well.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 19 | 161 ANSWERS We Now Know When NHLers May Return to the Olympic Games What's your preference, Olympics, or World Cup? | ||
| Olympics | 55 | 34.2 % |
| World Cup | 35 | 21.7 % |
| Both | 44 | 27.3 % |
| Neither | 27 | 16.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
