NHL players in Olympics for first time since 2014
NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade.
The world's top hockey league will allow its players to participate in the Games in 2026 in Milan and in 2030 under an agreement announced Friday by the NHL, the NHL Players' Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC.
NHL players have not been at the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi.
“There is a recognition of how important this is to the players,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at a news conference during All-Star Weekend. “Everybody felt on our ownership side that it was the right thing to do. ... This really came down to doing something because the players really wanted it.”
IIHF president Luc Tardif smiled and said, “We made it” after two years worth of work that picked up over the past six months.
Milan, barring another unforeseen circumstance like the pandemic that caused players to miss Beijing in 2022, will be the first Olympics for a generation of stars led by Canadians Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and Americans Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and Adam Fox. The tantalizing rosters could see the likes of McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard on the same team battling for gold.
“Extremely badly want to play in the Olympics,” McDavid said Thursday. “All these guys that haven't had a chance to represent their country at a best on best, I think it's something that we're all hungry to do.”
The NHL paused its season for the Olympics five times from 1998 through 2014, and most of the players now in the league grew up expecting to play on that stage. Disagreements over who would pay for insurance and travel costs, the time difference between South Korea and North America were cited as factors in the NHL passing on Pyeongchang in 2018.
MCDAVID WINS ALL-STAR SKILLS COMPETITION, $1M >>
Connor McDavid won the NHL All-Star Skills competition Friday night in Toronto, taking home the $1 million prize while showing once again why he is considered the best hockey player in the world.
The reigning and threetime MVP dominated the competition he helped the league and players union revive after thinking in previous years it had gotten “a little gimmicky, a little out there.” With his assist, it went back to the basics, and McDavid was dominant.
“I thought it was a fun event,” McDavid said.
The Edmonton Oilers captain finished first in the fastest skater, winning that event for the fourth time in his career, and stick-handling and went 4 for 4 in accuracy shooting.
“Obviously, he's the epitome of competitiveness on a daily basis, so I'm not surprised,” Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl said.
Three players from the Western Conference rival Colorado Avalanche also put on a show. Nathan MacKinnon won the one-timers event, while Cale Makar had the hardest shot at 102.56 mph. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev made nine saves — on McDavid — in one on one to win $100,000.
The prize money was one of the new wrinkles at the redesigned skills competition that featured just 12 players.
MONAHAN TRADED TO JETS >>
The Winnipeg Jets acquired Sean Monahan in a trade Friday with the Montreal Canadiens, giving one of the top Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference more depth at center
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PACIFIC DIVISION
Vancouver Vegas Edmonton Los Angeles Seattle Calgary Anaheim San Jose
Colorado Dallas Winnipeg St. Louis Nashville Arizona Minnesota Chicago
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Boston Florida Tampa Bay Toronto Detroit Buffalo Montreal Ottawa
Note:
Friday's game
Today's game
GP W
49 50 45 48 50 49 50 51
CENTRAL DIVISION
49 49 47 49 51 48 49 50
GP W
49 49 50 47 50 49 49 47
Sunday's games
Monday's games
33 29 29 23 21 22 18 14
GP W
32 30 30 26 26 23 21 14 31 31 27 25 26 22 20 20
GP W
All-Star Game, noon
No games scheduled
L OT Pts GF GA
11 15 15 15 19 22 30 32
L OT Pts GF GA
14 13 12 21 23 22 23 34
L OT Pts GF GA
9 14 18 14 18 23 21 25
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
All-Star skills competition 5 6 1 10 10 5 2 5 3 6 5 2 2 3 5 2 9 4 5 8 6 4 8 2 71 186 127 64 163 138 59 160 124 56 152 132 52 140 147 49 149 155 38 129 170 33 107 199 67 190 153 66 183 151 65 148 109 54 141 153 54 153 160 49 143 147 47 149 166 30 105 177 71 173 128 66 158 127 59 175 164 58 166 150 58 176 161 48 146 155 48 136 175 42 158 170
L OT Pts GF GA
N.Y. Rangers 49 30 16 3 63 161 142 Carolina 48 28 15 5 61 163 144 Philadelphia 50 25 19 6 56 147 148 N.Y. Islanders 49 20 17 12 52 143 166 Pittsburgh 46 22 17 7 51 138 126 New Jersey 47 24 20 3 51 161 168 Washington 47 22 18 7 51 115 146 Columbus 50 16 24 10 42 148 184
Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.
Colorado at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 4 p.m.
for a potential playoff run.
Winnipeg sent its 2024 first-round pick and a conditional third-rounder in 2027 to Montreal for the pending free agent. The trade comes two days since the NHLleading rival Vancouver Canucks acquired center Elias Lindholm from Calgary.
“The teams that were in the race for Lindholm shifted to Sean,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said in French on a video call with reporters. “So, it accelerated things.”