NHL players last competed in the Olympic Games almost 12 years ago. It was in Sochi in 2014, after which tournaments in Pyeongchang and Beijing took place without their participation. The highly anticipated return is supposed to happen at the Games in Milan next February. However, there is a significant risk that everything could fall apart and turn into a major scandal that will be discussed for a long time. And the consequences could extend for many years to come.
Without Ovechkin and without all the world stars?
It is no secret that an Olympic ice hockey tournament with NHL stars is completely different from one without them. Having players from the best league in the world automatically makes the competition more watchable and attractive.
For the first time in 12 years, the NHL agreed to release its players to the main sporting event of the quadrennium in winter disciplines. Unfortunately, the level of the Olympic tournament will still not be at its maximum due to the absence of the Russian team, which was not allowed in Milan solely for political reasons. Actually, in the NHL itself, they would undoubtedly have acted differently if they had the main voice, but everything was decided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
As a result, the tournament is guaranteed to be without a huge number of stars – Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevsky, and many other players.
Now it turns out that the Games in Milan may be not only without Russians but also without NHL players altogether. Vice-commissioner Bill Daly made a quite harsh statement about this. – Organizers are using our ice experts, technical specialists, and external suppliers. Essentially, we are moving them all there to try to make everything acceptable for NHL players. We have always made it clear to them that we are ready to help, and as the Games approach, we will evaluate the situation and understand if they have enough workforce, resources, and experience to do everything as needed. Obviously, if players deem the ice unsafe, we won’t play. It’s very simple, – Daly was quoted by the NHL press service.
Critical consequences
Firstly, Daly talks about the delayed construction of the hockey arena in Italy. By this time, everything should already be ready on paper, but in reality, work is still ongoing. And, judging by some photographs, its official completion will not be anytime soon. This predictably causes serious concern for the NHL leadership. Issues with safety arise, not to mention the unclear quality parameters of the ice.
And this is not to mention that the Olympic venue will be smaller than NHL standard sizes. Across the ocean, alarms are ringing and signals are being sent to the IOC and IIHF. Obviously, if the participation of NHL stars in the Olympic tournament really falls apart, it could deprive high-status hockey tournament at the Games for a very long time. In any case, the first major scandal of the 2026 Olympics has already occurred, regardless of how it ends.
The absence of NHL players will bring huge losses to the IOC and IIHF. However, as well as to the National Hockey League itself, which made financial concessions to fulfill the athletes’ dream. It is clear that, from a profit standpoint, it would have been much more profitable for the NHL not to let anyone go to Milan and continue the regular championship without pauses and then deal with the injury issues of NHL stars. Now there is a risk that these concessions were not justified, causing the entire world of hockey to lose.
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