NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, centre, shakes hands with IIHF president Luc Tardif, right, as NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh looks on during a news conference in Toronto on Feb. 2.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
NHL players will get a chance to score a golden goal for the first time in a dozen years when they compete at the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy. They will also participate in the 2030 Winter Games as the result of an agreement reached among the International Ice Hockey Federation, the league, the NHL Players’ Association and the International Olympic Committee.
The last time NHL players appeared in the Olympics was in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. The parties could not agree on a variety of factors, which led the league to decide not to send players to Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, and COVID-19-related issues caused them to skip going to Beijing in 2022.
“There is a recognition of how important this is to the players,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday during a news conference at Scotiabank Arena, the venue for Saturday’s all-star game. “This really came down to doing something the players wanted.
“It’s a great stage for the best-on-best competition in what I feel is the best sport.”
NHL players have performed at five Winter Olympics. Team Canada won the gold medal three times, including in its last appearance at Sochi.
The league and team owners have previously opposed the lengthy break in the regular season, which is necessary to send players to the Games.
“This is great news with all of the uncertainty there has been around it for the past few years,” Sidney Crosby said. He scored Canada’s golden goal in overtime in 2010 in Vancouver to beat the United States in the championship game.
“It’s an unbelievable experience to see the best of the best play for their countries and go head to head. You can’t get anything better than that.”
Crosby said he hoped for it but did not worry too much about getting to play in another Olympics.
“I tried not to get caught up in it,” he said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up. You have to earn it, but I think everyone will be happy to be there soon.”
Luc Tardif, the president of the IIHF, said the agreement culminates two years of bargaining.
“We know how to work together and it’s really important,” Tardif said. “It was not easy. There was lots of discussion. The more important thing is we had success.”
Marty Walsh, the executive director of the NHLPA, said he was pleased for the players.
“It has been clear how much they embrace playing for the countries in the Olympics,” he said. “It is exciting that they will be on the world stage.”
Bettman also announced that an international tournament called the 4 Nations Face-Off will debut next February in two cities in Canada and the United States. The event will include teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. It will take the place of next year’s all-star game and be contested from Feb. 12 to 20.
The commissioner laid out a schedule that calls for the 4 Nations Face-Off next year, the Olympics in 2026 and 2030 and IIHF World Cups in 2028 and 2032.
The new event is “a bit of an appetizer for the calendar I laid out,” Bettman said.
A number of top players have not had a chance to participate in the Olympics or IIHF events in recent years, including Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.
“Just the opportunity to do that is a dream come true,” McDavid said Friday. He has not been a part of a best-on-best tournament since playing with Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. “I’ve been vocal about this and I feel that it’s important for hockey as we continue to try and grow our game internationally and at home.”