NHL, NHLPA, IIHF reach deal to ensure 2026 Milan-Cortina participation

NHL players are returning to the Olympics.

The league and the IIHF finalized a deal Wednesday to allow NHL players to play in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The agreement was seen as a formality as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been saying for months that players will be attending the Games.

Also, all 12 men’s hockey teams named their first six players last month.

NHL players have not participated in the last two Olympics — in 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea, and 2022 in Beijing. The NHL and IIHF could not come to terms on a deal for 2018, and then the NHL backed out of Beijing because of COVID-19 impacting its regular-season schedule.

Canada won the last two Olympics with NHL players — in 2014 in Sochi, Russia and 2010 in Vancouver.

Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point and and Sam Reinhart have been named Canada’s first six players for the Olympic tournament, which runs Feb. 11-22, 2026.