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The long-awaited return of the NHL players to the Winter Olympics may be extended due to concerns regarding the construction of the main ice hockey arena for the Milan Cortina Winter Games 2026.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin that NHL players’ return to the Olympics after more than a decade’s absence rests solely on organizers’ ability to get the venue built in time for the men’s competition, which runs from February 11-22.
Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner, speaks at a joint NHLPA and NHL media availability at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2025. (Brian Babineau/NHL via Getty Images)
“Depends on the percentage you want to place on the possibility of the rink not being completed,” Daly said. “If there is no rink finished, there will be no NHL players going to the Olympics.”
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Daly’s threat comes amid real concern over the delays in the construction of the main arena.
Local organizers told The Associated Press in October that the main test event planned for December at the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena was pushed to a smaller arena, and the completion of the main arena will come to a head.
Construction continues at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy on January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
But last week, Chief Games Operations Officer for Milan Cortina Andrea Francisi told the AP that “there is no plan B” and new test events are planned until the second week of January.
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“So we must necessarily be able to organize the competition in an impeccable way in Santagiulia,” Francisi added.
The first match scheduled at the arena is a women’s preliminary round on February 5, the day before the opening ceremony. However, Olympic venues are typically tested a year before holding events.
Not only are there concerns about the completion, but there are also concerns regarding the surface of the ice.
USA’s Dylan Larkin (right) celebrates his goal over Canada with teammate Matt Boldy (12) during the second period of 4 Nations Face-Off hockey in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Athletics first reported that the approved ice for Milan is approximately three feet shorter than the NHL’s standard rink dimensions. While 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 states that the arena must be built to NHL standards.
Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that while there is no indication the league will pull its players from the Games, there are concerns about the construction.
