"For decades, the NHL and its players have sparred over Olympic participation. The players want to represent their countries in the world's most prestigious and historic athletic event -- like the generations of Americans inspired by the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980. NHL owners are loathe to shut down their regular season and loan their talent to an IOC that doesn't share revenues or give the league any tangible financial benefit."
"But for the sake of "growing the game," the NHL has participated, with some exceptions. The league didn't participate in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang because of a change in terms with the IOC and because "the overwhelming majority of our clubs" were "adamantly opposed" to disrupting the 2017-18 season, according to commissioner Gary Bettman, who was also seeking concessions from the NHL Players Association."
The 2026 Milan Cortina men's ice hockey tournament begins with round-robin play and marks NHL player participation in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014. NHL players first joined Olympic competition in 1998, after which Canada won three gold medals; Canada's last gold came in 2014. NHL owners and players have long disagreed on Olympic participation, as players seek national representation while owners resist pausing the regular season and giving talent to an IOC that shares no revenue. The league skipped 2018 due to term changes and club opposition. The NHLPA included language in the 2020 collective bargaining agreement committing players to 2022 and 2026, with a caveat for 2022 tied to whether the 2021-22 season was "materially im".
Read at ESPN.com
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