NHL to allow players to compete at Winter Olympics in 2026 and 2030

TORONTO — The NHL is heading back to the Olympics.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday during the league’s all-star festivities that its players will be allowed to compete at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, and at the 2030 Games, which is currently without a host city.

The NHL went to the Games five times between 1998 and 2014 — the last best-on-best men’s tournament — before skipping the 2018 event for financial reasons.

The league was set to return to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, but backed out because of COVID-19 concerns.

“We know how important international competition is to our players,” Bettman said during a media conference.

“We made it,” IIHF president Luc Tardif added. “That’s two years work and more intense the last six months.”

Bettman speaks about players charged with sexual assault

Bettman said the NHL won’t consider any punishment against five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team charged in connection with an alleged gang rape until the conclusion of judicial proceedings.

A court document shows Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, and former NHL player Alex Formenton are each charged with one count of sexual assault in connection with an incident that occurred after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont., in June 2018.

The case is set to be before a court on Monday.

Speaking Friday, deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly added the league will not release the finding of its own investigation while charges are pending.

The court document shows McLeod is also facing an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence.” It says the charges relate to an alleged sexual assault on a person identified only as E.M. on June 19, 2018.

All five players have been given indefinite leaves of absence from their teams.