NHL, NHLPA and IIHF Announce Plans for NHL Players to Participate in 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games

The National Hockey League (NHL), National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) jointly announced plans for NHL Players to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games.

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 are scheduled to be held Feb. 6-22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It will mark the first time NHL Players compete on the Olympic stage since 2014, and sixth time overall (1998 – Nagano, Japan; 2002 – Salt Lake City, United States; 2006 – Turin, Italy; 2010 – Vancouver, Canada; 2014 – Sochi, Russia). The host for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is expected to be chosen later this year by the International Olympic Committee.

“The international composition of National Hockey League rosters is unparalleled, and NHL Players take great pride in representing their countries. We are pleased that today, after intense collaborative efforts with the NHL Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, we can formally announce that NHL Players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympic hockey tournaments.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

The NHL, NHLPA and IIHF have outlined and agreed to the major principles related to the Players’ participation, with details to be finalized over the coming months. Today’s announcements were made at a news conference from the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto, Canada, attended by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh, and IIHF President Luc Tardif.