Nico Hischier grew up in Switzerland dreaming of playing in the Winter Olympics. “I’ve never gotten to experience that,” he said.
The countdown is on for Hischier, who hopes to compete with the NHL’s top players at the Olympics in Milan in February 2026. This season is a lead-up to that long-awaited return since the NHL hasn’t allowed its players to participate in the Olympics since 2014.
Hischier and the New Jersey Devils will start the season in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres. There will be two more games in Finland this fall, and the 4 Nations Face-off in February is a four-team event that will serve as a preview for the main tournament, as the league and players celebrate international hockey.
“Our players — aside from the Olympics — have a tradition of representing their countries, whether it’s at the world juniors or the world championships,” Commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press last month.
“We are the most international of the four major North American sports. There’s no doubt about that, and there’s no doubt about how our players feel about representing their countries.”
The IIHF men’s world championship happens during the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the last two Winter Olympics took place without NHL players.
The last time all the top players got to compete together was at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which had a unique format that included Team North America and Team Europe.
Americans like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Patrick Kane, and Adam Fox have never played together internationally. The same is true for Canada’s stars like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar.
The original plan was to hold a World Cup in winter 2024, but Russia’s war in Ukraine made planning difficult and pushed the event back. Instead, there will be the 4 Nations Face-off featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland, taking place in Montreal and Boston instead of All-Star festivities.
“You could call it a mini World Cup, if you want,” NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh told The AP. “Especially as we think about the 2026 Olympics, people are excited about that: a tournament with the best players.
That’s happening, so we’re doing all this stuff. It’s creating that excitement.” Walsh, who used to be the U.S. labor secretary and was once Boston’s mayor, felt the excitement from fans over the summer, who were already looking forward to games at the Bruins’ downtown arena.
The 4 Nations Face-off was announced during last All-Star Weekend, along with the agreement to send players to the next two Olympics, including the 2030 games in France. This helps ease the disappointment for players from other countries who aren’t included this year.
“They signed two Olympics deals for NHL players, so that’s a little plus,” said Czech winger David Pastrnak of the Bruins. “They signed for the Olympics. I can already look ahead with an Olympic deal in place.”
Olympic participation, depending on a deal with the IIHF and the IOC, was part of the extension of the collective bargaining agreement in 2020 when the league and union worked to finish the season during the pandemic.
Players, many of whom grew up expecting to compete in the Olympics, were upset about not going to South Korea in 2018, and scheduling issues forced the NHL to back out of the Beijing games in 2022 almost at the last minute.
Bettman mentioned that many players came to him after the agreement for the 2026 and 2030 Olympics was announced to express their excitement about being able to play on that stage.
“This was all about the players wanting the best players to represent their countries and have the chance to play with teammates they might not normally get to play with,” Bettman said. “Yes, going to the Olympics is a challenge, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Bettman said that the construction of hockey arenas in Milan is back on track, which is a relief after some worries about delays. However, there are still more than 1,000 games to play before the next Olympics.
Most of these games will happen in North America, but there is also focus on the Devils-Sabres games in Prague on Friday and Saturday, along with the Dallas Stars and NHL champion Florida Panthers playing twice in Tampere, Finland, in November.
The long-term plan is to have the World Cup of Hockey every other year in 2028 and 2032. These tournaments, along with the Global Series games in Europe, aim to increase hockey’s presence.
“We have a pretty busy international schedule throughout the season,” Walsh said. “It shouldn’t be just a one-time event. You should do those events, but also find ways to keep the momentum going.”
