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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has doubled down on warnings about the league’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics, saying Monday that NHL players will not travel to Italy if the rink being built in Milan is deemed unsafe.
Concerns about the size and construction schedule of the main rink have emerged in the weeks leading up to the 2026 Games. Last week, Daly told DailyFaceoff’s Matt Larkin that, “If no rink is finished, there will be no NHL players going to the Olympics.”
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)
But speaking at the NHL Board of Governors meeting on Monday, Daly clarified that he didn’t think the construction concerns were “insurmountable.” However, he noted that security concerns were a different story.
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“We’ve offered and they’re using our ice experts and technicians and outside providers,” Daly said. via ESPN. “We’re pretty much all moving there to try to help get this done in a way that’s acceptable to NHL athletes. And I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be fruitful.”
But Daly added that if the players consider the quality of the ice to be unsafe, “then we’re not going to play.”
The return of NHL players to the Olympics after an absence of more than a decade rests solely on organizers’ ability to get the venue built in time – and safely – for the men’s competition, which runs from February 11-22.
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 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)
NHL Deputy Commissioner Warns Players Must Skip 2026 Olympics Over Building Protections
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.
The rink itself will also be smaller than a standard NHL rink by more than three feet, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed on Monday.
“While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they comply with IIHF rules, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully compliant with the dimensions required by the NHL as part of their Global Series Game arena specifications,” the federation said. “All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, the NHL, the NHLPA, the IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in the rink specifications are insignificant and should not affect either the safety or the quality of the game.”
Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates with his teammates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. (David Kirouac/Imagn Images)
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The season will be on hiatus during the Olympics. If the rink doesn’t meet the NHL’s standards, Daly said Monday that a backup plan was in place.
“Well, I can’t tell you exactly what we do,” he said. “What I will say is that I think that in emergencies like the previous one, I think we have responded appropriately, found good solutions, and I have no doubt that we will be able to come up with good solutions if we are faced with it.”
