The issue is still not resolved, but the signals have turned green. According to Luc Tardif (photo above), president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the participation of NHL players in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games could be decided by end of February. And the trend is favorable. “ You can see I'm smiling, declared the French leader at a press conference at the end of last week. For the first time, we are meeting with all the interested parties – the NHL, the players' association, the IOC. And I think all the planets are aligned. I will meet IOC President Thomas Bach in mid-January. I think we will have an announcement before the end of February. And as we are hopeful for the next Olympic Games, we will try to obtain a commitment for the next two editions. There is a common goal of participation. » The North American professional league skipped the last two editions of the Winter Games. For PyeongChang 2018, it was never able to reach an agreement with the IOC on the financial coverage of insurance contracts linked to Olympic participation. Four years later, the NHL cited the COVID-19 pandemic and health risks to justify its refusal to take part in the 2022 Beijing Games, a decision announced just six weeks before the opening ceremony. In both cases, the American team was made up of university players, or members of minor leagues and foreign championships.
