This was a historic year for Olympic Hockey. It is the first time that both the US Women’s Hockey Team and the US Men’s Hockey team won gold in the same Olympics. This is also the first time that NHL players have played on Olympic ice since the 2014 Olympics. Prior to this year, the US had fielded a team of college players, American Hockey League (AHL) players, and hockey players who played abroad.
The first Olympics that the Men’s Hockey Team did not attend was the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Before the 2018 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that it would not pay for the cost of the NHL players to go to the Olympics.[i] In order to mitigate the cost, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) offered to pay for a portion of travel expenses to allow the NHL players to compete.[ii] Ultimately no deal was made, and the team was fielded from other sources of hockey players.[iii]
In addition to the issue regarding the funding for travel, in 2018 the NHL was unwilling to adjust its season for the Olympics. The Olympics typically take almost an entire month of coverage, and the NHL was unwilling to shorten its season so that players could participate in the Olympic games. Part of this determination was because there was a concern regarding the risk of injuries occurring during the Olympics. Should a star player get injured during the Olympic break, it would have real consequences for a team who expects to make a playoff run.
This concern ended up being justified. This year, several NHL players participating in the Olympics were injured, which can affect teams as they go into the final stretch of the regular season. Mikko Rantanen, Josh Morrissey, and Sidney Crosby are some of the most notable names to incur injuries in the Milano Olympics. Mikko Rantanen is currently the highest scoring player on the Dallas Stars, which would make his injury status particularly important as they look to secure a 2026 Stanley Cup berth. Additionally, Sidney Crosby, Captain of the Pittsburg Penguins, will miss four weeks with the same injury that caused the Olympic veteran to sit out of the Gold Medal game.[iv] The Penguins are currently in a playoff spot but need to hold off teams like the Sabres to stay there.[v]
The NHL made a host of changes to accommodate the Olympic break. The NHL condensed the regular season schedule, so that there would be a three-week break for the Olympics. The changed schedule, coupled with the injuries to some key players, begs the question of whether the owners will allow the league to participate in the 2030 Olympics. While the NHL, IOC, IIHF, and NHLPA have already signed the agreement for participation in the 2030 Olympic games, they have pulled out of a similar agreement before. In the 2022 Beijing Olympics, all four organizations agreed on a deal for the NHL players to participate, but the NHL and the NHLPA pulled players from participating over concerns of COVID 19.[vi]
The future of the NHL at the Olympics remains to be seen, but there is a brighter spotlight on how the owners will react to this first Olympics back. It is possible that the league is unhappy with the injuries and the condensed season, and ultimately decides not to send its players. Either way, this year’s Olympics was an interesting watch.
[i] https://time.com/4947041/nhl-players-2018-winter-olympics/
[ii] Id.
[iii] Id.
[iv] https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2026/02/25/sidney-crosby-injury-update-nhl-news-olympics/stories/202602250055
[v] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/48016481/nhl-2025-26-olympics-stanley-cup-playoffs-bubble-watch-standings-projections
[vi] https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/32923555/line-why-nhl-players-olympics-gone-well