If someone has to make the final call on whether or not NHL players will be competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics, it apparently won’t be NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
After concerns over the size of the ice and if construction of the rink in Milan will even be completed in time for the Games went viral last week, Daly appeared to firmly put the onus on the players if they’ll be playing in February.
“If the players feel that the ice is unsafe to play, then we’re not going to play. It’s as simple as that,” Daly told the Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Construction on the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, which is set to serve as the primary venue to host Olympic hockey, is scheduled to be completed by Feb. 2 — just three days before the women’s tournament begins. The men start play on Feb. 11.
That leaves very little time for the ice to be properly prepared and tested before the world’s best players begin competing.
“If the players feel that the ice is unsafe to play, then we’re not going to play. It’s as simple as that,” Daly said at the NHL Board of Governors meetings in Colorado Springs.
Daly was asked by Matt Larkin of the Daily Faceoff about the rink issues last week and if there was a 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.
Smaller ice surface
The Athletic reported last week 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.
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.”
The IIHF confirmed the reported smaller dimensions for the ice, but also defended them by saying it was “insignificant” difference.
“The differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play,” the IIHF said.
As for Daly, he said that he only was informed of the size issue “last week.”
Daly said that the NHL already is insisting that rink sizes be properly updated for the 2030 Games to avoid another situation like this.
“Doesn’t seem to be anything insurmountable,” Daly said. “Don’t want to be pessimistic. Most of my information is on the positive side as opposed to negative side.”