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The long-awaited return of NHL players to the Winter Olympics could be extended due to concerns over the construction of the main ice hockey arena for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff that the return of NHL players to the Olympics after more than a decade of absence rests entirely on the organizers’ ability to build the venue in time for the men’s competition, which will take place from February 11 to 22.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly speaks during a joint NHLPA-NHL press briefing at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2025. (Brian Babineau/NHL via Getty Images)
“It depends on what percentage you want to give to the possibility of the rink not being completed,” Daly said. “If no rink is completed, no NHL player will compete in the Olympics.”
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Daly’s threat comes amid real concern over delays in the construction of the main arena.
Local organizers told The Associated Press in October that the main test event scheduled for December for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia Arena had been pushed back to a smaller arena and that completion of the main arena would go down to the wire.
Construction continues at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
But last week, Andrea Francisi, head of Games operations at Milan Cortina, told the AP that “there was no plan B” and that new test events were scheduled until the second week of January.
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“It is therefore necessary to be able to organize the competition in an impeccable manner in Santagiulia,” added Francisi.
The first scheduled match at the arena is a women’s preliminary round match on February 5, the day before the opening ceremony. However, Olympic venues are typically tested a year before hosting events.
Not only are there concerns about completion, but there are also concerns about the ice surface.
Dylan Larkin (right) of the United States celebrates his goal against Canada with teammate Matt Boldy (12) during the second period of 4 Nations hockey Face-Off in Montreal, Saturday, February 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Athletics first reported that the sheet of ice approved for Milan is about three feet shorter than the NHL’s standard dimensions for an ice rink. Although the NHL has no control over the construction of the rink, the agreement between the league, the Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation stipulates that the arena must be built to NHL standards.
Sources told ESPN As of Wednesday, while there is no indication the league will pull its players from the Games, concerns remain about construction.
