Olympics: NHL participation 2026

[um]

The reason they were not in China was COVID. There's no need for conspiracy theories. They would be here otherwise, as by the CBA, which has a legal impact.

Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They still played, NHL decided not to go.

 

[BigBadBoar]

Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They still played, NHL decided not to go.

But the decision was due to the COVID circumstances, postponed NHL games and so on. The CBA says clearly they should be there as well as in Italy 2026, circumstances permitting.

 

[um]

But the decision was due to the COVID circumstances, postponed NHL games and so on. The CBA says clearly they should be there as well as in Italy 2026, circumstances permitting.

Sure, but the Olympics weren’t a top priority, and it probably won’t be next time.

 

[Albatros]

Having NHL referees in the Olympics is an NHL requirement, and the pool of NHL referees is primarily Canadian with some Americans. I recall reading before the 2014 Olympics that the European NHLers, for the most part, were also in favour of having NHL referees in all of their games. The NHL referees do fall under certain federations, for example the referee who was getting ripped (mainly erroneously) in Sochi for a call in Russia vs USA was a Hockey Canada referee, though people googled him and saw his birthplace and took out the pitchforks.

Nowadays with increasing professionalization there are indeed quite a few referees working for a different federation than their country of birth or citizenship would indicate, for example Vinnerborg is licensed by Switzerland rather than Sweden. Mark Lemelin is another former NHL ref working in Switzerland but still has his IIHF license from Austria.

 

[HaNotsri]

We might be at that point then, something around a super series between Canada and the U.S that gold standard has been championing for years now. I'd be o.k with that.

But even if that doesn't happen Future world cups can carry on and Canada and the U.S can keep racking up the wins I guess,

As has already been mentioned, the main reason Europeans fans don't consider the Word cup legitimate is that teams from there aside from the Soviet union in 1981 haven't been able to win it, but there is not much we can do about that other then they become good enough to win it, that's what Canada does with the WHC, they don't make excuses, they go over and win it, great hockey countries win tournaments, they don't cry about where they are held all the time and what ice surface is being used and what refs are calling the games.. Winning throws all that stuff out the window, winning is legitimacy enough.

We put our work helmets on, take up the challenge and win big games,simple as that, doesn't matter where the games are being held and under what conditions


I mean, I doubt the NHL sees any sense in spending copious amounts of time and energy in trying to convince European fans of anything, life is short, Europeans fans certainly did the right thing and gave up caring whether N.A fans consider the WHC legitimate or where it is held and because of that they get a high level senior mens tournament every year, it's been to their great benefit to not care.

We have simply followed Europes lead with the Canada/World cups when we have had them, we haven't cared what European fans think.

And life carries on as always.

It's not about who wins it, if it's a tournament hosted by the NHL who cares? It's not legitimate. The olympics are important because it's the olympics.

If Sweden wins the "world cup" in arizona no one will care. If they win the olympics the streets would be full and we'd celebrate for days.

Hence I think it's better that Canada and USA have national championships instead, it would be legit and a ton of fun even as an outsider.

 

[JackSlater]

Nowadays with increasing professionalization there are indeed quite a few referees working for a different federation than their country of birth or citizenship would indicate, for example Vinnerborg is licensed by Switzerland rather than Sweden. Mark Lemelin is another former NHL ref working in Switzerland but still has his IIHF license from Austria.

The referee in question was a Canadian citizen raised in Canada.

It's not about who wins it, if it's a tournament hosted by the NHL who cares? It's not legitimate. The olympics are important because it's the olympics.

If Sweden wins the "world cup" in arizona no one will care. If they win the olympics the streets would be full and we'd celebrate for days.

Hence I think it's better that Canada and USA have national championships instead, it would be legit and a ton of fun even as an outsider.

The Olympics are not intrinsically important within a given sport. Soccer and other sports demonstrate that.

 

[HaNotsri]

The referee in question was a Canadian citizen raised in Canada.



The Olympics are not intrinsically important within a given sport. Soccer and other sports demonstrate that.

Can't really compare summer and winter olympics. Winter olympics are niché just like hockey and go well together.

Football is so much bigger than the summer olympics it's a joke to have any kind of participation. Cricket and sports like that are a better fit.

I would also be ok with the IIHF hosting the world cup every 4th year to make it special and remove the "world championships"

 

[Albatros]

The Olympics are not intrinsically important within a given sport. Soccer and other sports demonstrate that.

Not the most important event in all of soccer surely, but also the "no one cares about the Olympics in soccer" narrative is something less than accurate. It's big and it does matter. Just not as much as the FIFA World Cup or some of the continental tournaments. The World Cup of Hockey can only dream of becoming something comparable to soccer's Olympics.

 

[JackSlater]

Not the most important event in all of soccer surely, but also the "no one cares about the Olympics in soccer" narrative is something less than accurate. It's big and it does matter. Just not as much as the FIFA World Cup or some of the continental tournaments. The World Cup of Hockey can only dream of becoming something comparable to soccer's Olympics.

The Olympics is maybe a C level tournament in soccer. Top players skip it and due to its very nature the best aren't there. Top players rarely skip hockey's World Cup and generally the best players are there. Other than the meaningless 2016 tournament it's already surpassed the Olympic soccer tournament, in as much as these things can reasonably be compared.

 

[BigBadBoar]

Sure, but the Olympics weren’t a top priority, and it probably won’t be next time.

The players want to be there, and they have it in the CBA, which is a legal document. That's the default position now. Of course things may change if there are concerns similar to COVID or a conflict between the NHL and the IOC over some substantial issues.

World Cup would be a nice alternative but the idea is not very popular among the players now. If the players were taking World Cup as the real top tournament, then it would be a cool thing.

 

[jj cale]

It's not about who wins it, if it's a tournament hosted by the NHL who cares? It's not legitimate. The olympics are important because it's the olympics.

If Sweden wins the "world cup" in arizona no one will care. If they win the olympics the streets would be full and we'd celebrate for days.

Hence I think it's better that Canada and USA have national championships instead, it would be legit and a ton of fun even as an outsider.

Well the olympics look like they are not gonna happen on a regular basis so You and other Swedish fans might have to adjust your mindset i'd say.



Also, I think you are way off on Swedish fans not caring about a Swedish victory in a world cup, If for instance Sweden beats Canada in a worldcup, especially on their home rink.........................you can be damn sure the final will be widely watched and that they will care, you better f***in believe they will care.

 

[BigBadBoar]

Well the olympics look like they are not gonna happen on a regular basis so You and other Swedish fans might have to adjust your mindset i'd say.



Also, I think you are way off on Swedish fans not caring about a Swedish victory in a world cup, If for instance Sweden beats Canada in a worldcup, especially on their home rink.........................you can be damn sure the final will be widely watched and that they will care, you better f***in believe they will care.

Increasing the prestige of the World Cup would probably be the best solution for all sides (NHL, IIHF, players, fans). The question is, how to make this happen.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Well the olympics look like they are not gonna happen on a regular basis so You and other Swedish fans might have to adjust your mindset i'd say.



Also, I think you are way off on Swedish fans not caring about a Swedish victory in a world cup, If for instance Sweden beats Canada in a worldcup, especially on their home rink.........................you can be damn sure the final will be widely watched and that they will care, you better f***in believe they will care.

You would be surprised by how differently the average casual fan in Sweden follows hockey compared to what it seems to be like in NA.

For whatever reason the World Cup just isn't all that popular, meanwhile people here generally love watching the Winter Olympics whether it's skiing or hockey.

I don't think the casuals are aware that a Swedish captain just won the Stanley Cup but they can tell you who won the SHL finals.

 

[jj cale]

You would be surprised by how differently the average casual fan in Sweden follows hockey compared to what it seems to be like in NA.

For whatever reason the World Cup just isn't all that popular, meanwhile people here generally love watching the Winter Olympics whether it's skiing or hockey.

I don't think the casuals are aware that a Swedish captain just won the Stanley Cup but they can tell you who won the SHL finals.

I recall the Finland-Canada game getting great ratings in Finland in 2004 or was I misinformed about this?


Like I've said, if it's a best on best and those European teams are in the thick of it I'm pretty sure they will watch. It's when they are not that is the problem, but that's really on them isn't it?

Sure, the olympics will have more cache, at least for now, then any World cup will have, but I think a change of mindset is in order when you consider the NHL hasn't gone to the last 2 olympics.

The WC will become a lot bigger when a european team actually wins it IMO, until then I agree it won't be looked upon highly, because well................why get excited about something you weren't good enough to win? It's not like they are going to like or want to watch Canada winning.

Same thing goes for the legitimacy argument concerning the tournament, once a European team wins it the tournament will immediately become legitimate, at least to fans of the winning European country anyway, lol.

We all know how that works.

 

[Maverick41]

Increasing the prestige of the World Cup would probably be the best solution for all sides (NHL, IIHF, players, fans). The question is, how to make this happen.

I don't know if this would work for everyone, but for me to take this tournament seriously the following criteria have to be met:
1. The World Cup must be held regularly, and at least occasionally in Europe (maybe once in Europe for every 2 or 3 times it's held in North America)
2. It cannot be a strictly invitational tournament that only features the same teams every time. There has to be some way for teams to earn a spot. This cannot just be arbitrarily decided by the NHL.
3. While I can see an argument for only having 6 teams play in the World Cup, for me it should be at least 8 teams.
4. The final ingredient for me is time, which relates to my first point. It will take at least 3-5 World Cups that are held meeting all the criteria before it will really start to matter to me.

But that is just how it would work for me and I don't want to speak for anyone else.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

I recall the Finland-Canada game getting great ratings in Finland in 2004 or was I misinformed about this?


Like I've said, if it's a best on best and those European teams are in the thick of it I'm pretty sure they will watch. It's when they are not that is the problem, but that's really on them isn't it?

Sure, the olympics will have more cache, at least for now, then any World cup will have, but I think a change of mindset is in order when you consider the NHL hasn't gone to the last 2 olympics.

The WC will become a lot bigger when a european team actually wins it IMO, until then I agree it won't be looked upon highly, because well................why get excited about something you weren't good enough to win? It's not like they are going to like or want to watch Canada winning.

Same thing goes for the legitimacy argument concerning the tournament, once a European team wins it the tournament will immediately become legitimate, at least to fans of the winning European country anyway, lol.

We all know how that works.

I was a kid in 2004 so I have no idea.
I understand you really like Canada but this has nothing to do with the level of competition no matter how many paragraphs you want to write about how great Canada is or how bad Europe is.

"Once a European team wins it the tournament will become legitimate" is just a weird statement to make.

Canada's good at hockey, is that what you wanted to hear or? Europeans don't mind Canadians lol.

 

[jj cale]

I was a kid in 2004 so I have no idea.
I understand you really like Canada but this has nothing to do with the level of competition no matter how many paragraphs you want to write about how great Canada is or how bad Europe is.

"Once a European team wins it the tournament will become legitimate" is just a weird statement to make.

Canada's good at hockey, is that what you wanted to hear or? Europeans don't mind Canadians lol.

Is that what you got from that post?

No one needs to hear Canada is good at hockey,least of all me, we all know that. What I really was trying to say is if the European teams are as good as they say they are at hockey then they should be able to win it like Canada does at the European circle jerk party that is the WHC and not hide behind tired old rants of where games are held, who is reffing or what goddamned hotels you are staying at................I've heard it all over the years and i've been around a lot longer then you have. But let's make something very clear, when the day does come that a team from there wins it, you and me both know there won't be any moaning about any of that stuff, it will just be a bunch of bragging about how they are the best, all of a sudden all that other stuff will instantly be forgotten.

But until then they will just use the legitimacy/ it's not the olympics excuse to cover up their inability to win it, how convenient.

But you take it anyway you want, I know it makes a lot of you sleep better at night.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

it will just be a bunch of bragging about how they are the best, all of a sudden all that other stuff will instantly be forgotten.

But until then they will just use the legitimacy/ it's not the olympics excuse to cover up their inability to win it, how convenient.

But you take it anyway you want, I know it makes a lot of you sleep better at night.

You just kept going on about how Canada's the best lol.

I doubt that many people would call a regular World Cup illegitimate but having Team Europe as a team for leftover Europeans again is not going to be popular among Europeans affected by it.

The only thing I can think of that would make it feel illegitimate is if those weird gimmick teams were used again. I know people were confused and didn't take it as seriously because of that.

 

[jj cale]

You just kept going on about how Canada's the best lol.

I doubt that many people would call a regular World Cup illegitimate but having Team Europe as a team for leftover Europeans again is not going to be popular among Europeans affected by it.

The only thing I can think of that would make it feel illegitimate is if those weird gimmick teams were used again. I know people were confused and didn't take it as seriously because of that.

I told it like it is, period.

I've no issue with anyones negative view about the gimmick teams, everyone knows that was silly. That was one tournament though, you're making it sound like every one has included that.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

I told it like it is, period.

I've no issue with anyones negative view about the gimmick teams, everyone knows that was silly. That was one tournament though, you're making it sound like every one has included that.

I can only speak for myself because I would see the tournament as legitimate if it was a regular World Cup. I genuinely don't want gimmick teams again except for I guess "World Cup Athletes of Russia" if Russia is banned

 

[jj cale]

I can only speak for myself because I would see the tournament as legitimate if it was a regular World Cup. I genuinely don't want gimmick teams again except for I guess "World Cup Athletes of Russia" if Russia is banned

The gimmick teams need to and are going the way of the dodo bird, thank heavens.