TORONTO — The 2026 Winter Olympic Video games are lower than 90 days away and there may be nonetheless work to be executed on the ice surfaces that may showcase NHL gamers suiting up at their first Video games in a decade.
The league hasn’t allowed its skaters to take part on the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. Now that they’re on the cusp of returning, there are critical questions in regards to the high quality of ice all gamers — women and men — shall be working with in February.
“There’s nonetheless work ongoing on the rinks and the ice situations,” confirmed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the NHL GM Conferences on Tuesday. “It is one thing that we’re monitoring carefully, and we’ve got completely no management over. That is all on the [International Olympic Committee] and the [International Ice Hockey Federation].”
Bettman stated the league is getting “fixed reassurances” from the IOC and IIHF that “every thing shall be advantageous” with the rinks by the point athletes arrive abroad. At this level, the primary hockey rink — Santagiulia Area — continues to be beneath development. The venue was meant to endure testing for Olympic occasions in December, with a U-20 world championship event. However that is now been moved to a different rink — the Rho Fiera — that may host secondary hockey matches throughout the Video games.
These constructing delays may imply that no video games will truly be performed at Santagiulia Area till the ladies’s hockey schedule formally opens Feb. 5 with an untested ice floor. Past simply being a security subject for gamers, there’s additionally a query of testing issues like bogs and concessions for followers in a newly constructed area.
Whereas the NHL cannot do a lot to expedite the development course of, they’re staying actively concerned in what is going on on. When the league’s present International Sequence showcase in Sweden between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators wraps up this weekend, NHL executives will make a pilgrimage to Milano-Cortina to test the standing of rink development for themselves.
What they discover there stays to be seen. All Bettman can reiterate is that it is out of the NHL’s fingers.
“We’re merely invited company,” stated Bettman.