MIAMI: Players from the National Hockey League will compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games after a deal was reached between players, the league and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the NHL said on Friday. The deal, which has also been backed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), will see NHL players on ice at the Olympics for the first time since Sochi in 2014.

“The international composition of National Hockey League rosters is unparalleled, and NHL Players take great pride in representing their countries,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We are pleased that, after intense collaborative efforts with the NHL Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, we can formally announce that NHL Players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympic hockey tournaments.”

The IOC said that the French Alps are their preferred hosts for the 2030 Winter Games. The NHL has previously had players compete between 1998 and 2014 but no deal was put in place for Pyeongchang in 2018 or the COVID-impacted Beijing Games in 2022.

The competition in Milan will take place on NHL sized courts rather than international specifications. NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said that fans of the game would welcome the chance to see the world’s best battle for a gold medal.

“We know that hockey fans worldwide have long been anticipating the next best-on-best international competition, and now they can finally see some of their favorite players represent their countries and line up together,” he said.

IIHF President Luc Tardif said that the agreement, which comes ahead of a possible bid from Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Games, was a major boost for the sport.

“This decision represents a turning point for Ice Hockey at the global level and marks the great return of the NHL Players to the Olympic Games,” he said. “The IIHF was able to gather all related stakeholders at the same table to find a long-lasting and sustainable consensus,” added Tardif.

Nine countries have already qualified for the men’s tournament -- Canada, Finland, Russia, United States, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic and hosts Italy. The final three spots will be secured through qualification this year.

The NHL also announced that a four-nation tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States, featuring only NHL Players will be held in February 2025. The in-season tournament, called the ‘4 Nations Face-off’ will be held instead of an All-Star Game.

Bettman said the NHL was looking to participate every other year in an international tournament with the World Cup of Hockey held in between Olympics. “That’s the cycle we’re trying to get on but we figured we’d try a little bit of an appetizer between now and then,” said Bettman. – AFP