The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are just under a month away. Featuring approximately 2,900 athletes across 116 events, the Winter Games is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Despite its importance and popularity, the National Hockey League (NHL) has denied its players the opportunity to participate in the tournament for over a decade. The Milano Cortina Games will end a 12-year hiatus of NHL players’ participation in the Olympics, the last involvement having been in Sochi 2014.
The men’s hockey event was featured in the first-ever Winter Olympics in 1924. According to Olympics founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympics were intended for amateurs; therefore, NHL players’ professional status prohibited them from competition. In 1992, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) abolished the amateur rule. Still, it was not until the 1998 Nagano Games that NHL players were allowed to compete.
After sending their players to five straight Olympics, from 1998 to 2014, the NHL banned its players again in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. The NHL and IOC struggled to reach an agreement due to cost coverage issues and the timing of the games. In 2017, the IOC announced it would no longer cover NHL players’ accommodations, insurance, or travel expenses, citing that it does not provide similar funding for athletes from other major professional leagues, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) offered $20 million USD to cover the costs; nevertheless, the efforts to convince the NHL were unsuccessful.
146 players from the league will compete in Milan this year, with at least one player from each of the 32 NHL teams. Widely considered the largest hockey league in the world, the ban negatively impacted the viewership and entertainment value of the Winter Games, as some of the world’s best hockey players are unable to compete. For example, the Team USA roster for Milan is made up solely of 25 NHL players. For Beijing 2022, the ban from the NHL forced the U.S. to resort to a team of mostly college students from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), mounting a short run to the quarterfinals.
This 12-year ban fueled growing frustration among NHL players eager to represent their respective countries. In July 2025, an agreement was reached among the IOC, IIHF, NHL, and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), allowing players to compete in 2026 and 2030. However, controversies remain due to the delayed construction schedule and the size of Milan’s Olympic ice rink.
Despite being less than a month away from the first puck drop, the rinks are scheduled to be ready on Feb. 2, just three days before the women’s tournament and nine days before the men’s. The primary issue, however, is the dimension of the rink. The initial agreement between the four parties was that the ice rink would be built to NHL specifications: 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. However, the Olympic rink has been constructed as 196.85 feet long and 85.3 feet wide, more than three feet shorter and a few inches wider than promised.
A shorter ice rink means a shorter neutral zone, hindering players’ ability to gain speed in offence, which can increase physicality and encourage aggressive defensive strategies. NHL Commissioner Bill Daly said in an interview with The Athletic that the players will not participate if the conditions are deemed unsafe. Daly’s comments also highlight the significant power the NHL holds within Olympic hockey. Because the league controls access to the world’s top players, it can negotiate or withhold participation based on safety conditions. This leverage allows the NHL to advocate for safer playing environments, benefiting not only NHL athletes but all players participating in the event.
Despite this, there have been no official reports of safety concerns, and the stadium is set to finish on time. Although players expressed that the smaller rink size would change the game, reactions about NHL players’ participation have been overwhelmingly positive. After more than a decade away from Olympic competition, many athletes are eager for the opportunity to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage.
