A success for Luc Tardif. A real. The French president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) succeeded where his predecessor, the Swiss René Fasel, sometimes failed: he ensured the return of NHL players to the Olympic Games.
Under an agreement reached last weekend between the North American professional league, the Players' Association and the IIHF, the best hockey players on the planet will compete in the next two editions of the Winter Games, in Milan- Cortina in 2026 then in the French Alps in 2030.
The NHL had agreed to send its players to five consecutive editions, between Nagano 1998 and Sochi 2014, before snubbing the PyeongChang 2018 Games. For Beijing 2022, an agreement had been reached, but the health crisis disrupted the plans and pushed the league to review its position.
The commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, made no secret of it: the decision to send the players to the Winter Games was not viewed favorably by the owners of the franchises, who were never very enthusiastic to the idea of releasing them in peak season. “ But everyone has recognized the importance this has for players”, explained Gary Bettman.
Question: does the decision announced at the end of last week also concern Russian and Belarusian players, who are numerous in the NHL? At this stage, it remains unanswered.
Luc Tardif specified that the status of the two teams in international competitions was discussed and possibly reviewed annually. It is on the agenda for the next IIHF council meeting, scheduled for this week. The body will have to decide whether the two countries at war with Ukraine can participate in the world championships.
Another announcement: the organization of a four-player tournament in February 2025, one year before the Milan-Cortina Games, between the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden. It should be held in a Canadian and an American city. Each of the four selections will have 23 players under contract with an NHL franchise for the 2024-25 season. They will be chosen by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association and the Swedish Association. The four national federations will announce a first casting of six players next summer.
This four-person competition should kick off an international calendar that is tougher than ever, with the Milan-Cortina Games the following year, the World Cup in 2028, the Winter Games in 2030, and finally the World Cup in 2032. For the Winter Games in 2034, the question of the presence of NHL players already seems to be settled: the event will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah.
