The National Hockey League and the International Hockey Federation are finally came to the long-awaited agreement: the participation of NHL players in the Olympic Games will happen. The league, together with the players' union and the IIHF, announced this on Friday evening — just before the start of the NHL All-Star Game. There have been discussions about this for a long time. Now the decision has been made. In the coming months, the parties will work out the main details to make the dreams of many players and millions of hockey fans from all over the world come true.
The NHL ignored the Games for almost ten years. The last Olympics with the participation of the best hockey players on the planet was held in Sochi. In 2014, Canadians took Olympic gold with Sidney Crosby, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, Jonathan Toews, Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash and Patrice Bergeron in the lineup. Russia prefers not to remember that hockey tournament.
The Nkhlovians missed the next two Olympics. In Pyeongchang, the NHL refused to release its players due to the reluctance to take what the league considered an unnecessary pause in the calendar, and the idea of a trip to Beijing was rejected shortly before the start of the tournament due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, although between the league and the IIHF with the International the Olympic Committee had an agreement.
Today, the current head of the International Hockey Federation, Luc Tardif, probably won his first truly significant victory in his position. He took advantage of the great desire of NHL stars to return to the Games and reached an agreement with the head of the league, Gary Bettman. Moreover, the IIHF president obtained consent from the North Americans for two Olympics at once: 2026 in the Italian Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo and 2030, the hosts of which will be determined in July.
“»This is a turning point for hockey at the world level. How «And as hockey's biggest fans, the IIHF is also thrilled and encouraged by this unprecedented agreement. We look forward to seeing the best hockey at the upcoming Games,» said Tardif.
Russia's participation is an open question. In addition to the organizational issues of the IIHF, the IOC and the NHL have to solve another important task — to determine the fate of hockey Russia. At the moment, Russian athletes, with some exceptions, are outside the international arena. Hockey players, too. It is already known that Russians (namely, Russian NHL players) will miss the international tournament organized by the league in 2025. Only teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the USA will compete at the championship. This was discussed earlier. The NHL noted that right now they are not able to admit Russian players due to some difficulties. Although it is the Russians who play one of the main roles in the league.
“»We still support Russian players in the NHL and have no geopolitical claims against them. However, now is not the best time to include Russia as a separate national team in the tournament,» — said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
But it's not that scary. The NHL considers the tournament in 2025 as some kind of rehearsal. After all, the format of the championship will not be identical even to the World Cup. Right now the league has a more global plan: to play at the 2026 Olympics, two years later to hold a full-fledged World Cup, in 2030 to go to the Games again, and a couple of years later to again organize the World Cup, whose status is considered by many to be higher than the classic World Cup .
Interestingly, back in November, the NHL players’ union indirectly made it clear that they expected a positive decision regarding the Russians. Although the final answer will not lie with the league, but with the organizers of the Olympic tournament — that is, the IOC and the IIHF. Only in theory can the NHL use some leverage. And this is definitely a chance for the same Alexander Ovechkin. After Sochi 2014, the main star of world hockey was “rolled” past the Games in South Korea, and was also not allowed to attend the Olympics in China. In 2026, Ovi will be over 40 years old, although age is not an indicator in this case. Moreover, Alexander will finish out his last contract in the NHL. A kind of Last Dance for the leader of the Washington Capitals and the main contender for the title of best sniper in the history of the league is the best scenario for the NHL and the Olympics in principle. At the same time, let's not forget about other Russian stars: Evgeny Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Artemy Panarin, Pavel Buchnevich, Andrei Vasilevsky, Igor Shesterkin, Dmitry Orlov, Mikhail Sergachev and many, many other Russians. All parties are interested in the participation of the strongest players on the planet in the Games, regardless of the geopolitical situation.
Earlier, Luc Tardif stated that the answer to the question of participation in the Olympic Games 2026 will be given no later than March of this year. Later, the head of the IIHF clarified that next week the Federation Council intends to discuss the status of Russians at international tournaments. First of all, the fate of the Russian team in relation to the 2025 World Cup will be decided, and after that negotiations on the Olympics will begin. The same applies to the Belarusian team.
I would like to believe that the curtain will open before the suspended Russians and Belarusians. There is some hope for this. The IIHF just needs to finally show character and not succumb to the provocations of countries threatening to boycott.
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