Hockey fans have waited more than a decade to see NHL players return to the Winter Olympics – and, in a shocking turn of events, they might have to wait even longer.
Despite the much-heralded announcement that the stars of the NHL would return to the Games at the 2026 Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, a major roadblock has been put in the way just three months before players are set to take the ice.
That roadblock: The rink has yet to be completed and Games organizers are unsure if it will be done in time.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was asked by Matt Larkin of the Daily Faceoff about the rink issues and the chance that NHLers wouldn’t in fact be headed to Italy in February.
“Depends on the percentage you want to place on the possibility the rink doesn’t get completed,” Daly said. “If there’s no rink completed, there’s no NHL players going to the Olympics.”
Hockey Insider Frank Seravelli also reported that “there is no Plan B” when it comes to potentially moving the men’s and women’s hockey events to a different city or arena.
Ice surface size smaller than NHL
The response from Daly comes after reports that the ice surface at the Milan rink will be more than three feet shorter than the NHL’s standard.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the IIHF approved a 196.85-foot by 85.3-foot sheet of ice in Milan, which is more than three feet shorter than the NHL’s standard 200-foot by 85-foot dimensions.
The ice issue was brought to light by Team Canada assistant coach Pete DeBoer during an interview on Monday.
DeBoer, who visited the site earlier in the fall, told the Real Kyper and Bourne show that he doesn’t understand how this discrepancy happened.
“The ice surface, it looks like it’s going to be smaller than NHL rink standard by probably three or four feet,” he said. “I don’t understand how that happened.”
While the rink dimensions being off is not ideal, the league does not view it as a concern in terms of safety.
One NHL player already named to an Olympic team told ESPN he didn’t believe the smaller ice would affect the game too much.
“With the talent level there’s already going to be no time and space,” the unidentified player was quoted as saying. “The games are going to be incredible no matter what. Just give us a sheet of ice we’ll be good.”
The women’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to begin on Feb. 5 while the men are set to begin on Feb. 11.
4 Nations Face-Off spurred excitement
In preparation for NHL players making their return to the Olympics in 2026, the NHL held the wildly successful 4 Nations Face-Off tournament earlier this year. In addition to becoming a thrilling replacement to the annual all-star weekend, the event served to generate excitement for best-on-best hockey.
Canada won the tournament, beating rival U.S. in the final in Boston. Teams representing Sweden and Finland also competed in the event.
The NHL drastically altered its schedule to accommodate the Olympics in February, shutting down from Feb. 5-25 and creating a more condensed calendar for the teams to play 82 regular-season games.
There’s no word if schedule alterations will be made if the NHL decides against sending players to the Games.