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The biggest appeal of the Olympics is getting the chance to see the best athletes on the planet go head-to-head while representing their country, but hockey fans have been deprived of that experience since 2014. Thankfully, that will no longer be the case when the Games head to Italy.
Ice hockey was initially added to the line-up of events at the Olympics all the way back in 1920 (the first Winter Olympics wouldn’t be held until four years later), but rules prevented NHL players from participating until the IOC changed its tune in the 1980s.
The league was initially hesitant to put its season on hold to cater to the event, but it decided to give players the green light to head to Nagano in 1998. It was a very welcome change, and NHL players were front and center at five consecutive iterations before the league reversed course ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Injury concerns (and, more importantly, the associated insurance costs) served as the impetus for that decision, and while fans and players alike have spent years voicing their displeasure with the status quo, the NHL declined to cave in the leadup to the gathering in Beijing in 2022.
However, there have been plenty of rumors concerning a potential return, and on Friday, the hockey world got some fantastic news when the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF announced players will once again be allowed to participate when 2026 rolls around.
The NHLPA, @NHL and @IIHFHockey today jointly announced plans for NHL Players to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games.
Full announcement: https://t.co/5HYOsEPna1 pic.twitter.com/KGTno8OW5Q
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) February 2, 2024
At first glance, it appears Canada will be the odds-on favorite when you consider they’ll be able to field a team that will likely include Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, and Connor Bedard (among many others), but the United States will undoubtedly be looking for vengeance following their loss in the semifinal in Sochi.
The agreement in question also applies to 2030, and while we’ll have to wait until the Summer Olympics are held in Paris later this year to learn the location, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States are all in contention.
The NHL will also be hosting a half-measure in the interim, as the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden will be participating in what’s been dubbed the “Four Nations Faceoff,” which will he held in Montreal and Boston in 2025.