MAJOR | NHL players to the 2026 Olympics: NHLPA Director opens up on the subject

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Cooper Godin
July 19, 2023 (1:49 PM)

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It's been over nine years since NHL players represented their nations at the Winter Olympics and after missing the last two, it appeared that they will be returning in 2026.

According to NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh, his side, along with the NHL and IIHF continue to have discussions about the Olympics and it's his priority to ensure that the players are in Milan in February of 2026.

"My focus is to try and make that happen. I'm working with commissioner Gary Bettman, collectively together with the IIHF, and hopefully we'll be able to come up with an agreement and move forward," Walsh told ESPN on Tuesday. "A lot of players from around the globe want to play for their home country. They want that best-on-best tournament. They want to be part of it."

Should an agreement be in place for the 2026 Winter Olympics, there's a very good chance that we'll see several Vancouver Canucks players represent their nations.

Among those that will likely be in Milan in 2026 are Elias Pettersson (Sweden), Quinn Hughes (United States), Thatcher Demko (United States), J.T. Miller (United States). While it's still three years away, Russia's participation is still up in the air due to their invasion of Ukraine, but if they go end up being allowed to send a team, then there's a good chance we'll see Andrei Kuzmenko on their roster.