The NHL Is Headed Back To The Olympics Which Means The US Might Have A Shot at A Medal Again

There have been rumblings for some time now that the NHL would let its players play at the Olympics once again for the first time since 2014, and now it's officially official.

And if you're a red-blooded American who loves nothing more than seeing the Stars and Stripes on the top step of the podium, this is great news.

On Friday as part of the All-Star weekend festivities, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league would allow its players to be part of both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics Games.

"The exciting news — although I think the IIHF broke it a little early because the ink is barely dry — we have an agreement among us and with the International Olympic Committee for NHL players to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympics," Bettman announced alongside NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh. 

"We know how important international competition is to our players."

Yup, but that doesn't trump the way the NHL was getting hosed by the IOC in seeing little if any financial returns for letting its players headline the Olympics and forcing a pause to the NHL regular season.

Fortunately, things have been worked out to the league's liking and players will be back at the Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and the 2030 Games, which are expected to be held in France.

We'll have to wait and see if NHL players will be part of the 2034 Games, which are expected to take place in Salt Lake City.

The league also announced that a special international tournament hosted by the league and featuring just four teams — Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland — will take place in 2025. That'll be known as the 4 Nations Faceoff and it will take the place of All-Star Game next season. 

This all means that for the next two years — and possibly every two years after that — we're going to get a best-on-best tournament of some kind. This news couldn't have come at a better time if you're a fan of Team USA.

Without NHLers, it has been hard for the United States to send medal-contending teams to the Olympics. (Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)

No One Benefits From This News More Than The United States

Two countries suffered more than any others because of the NHL's decision not to send players to the 2018 and 2022 Olympics: the United States and Canada.

This is simply because the best players from North America stay in North America and play in the NHL. Sure, both nations fielded okay teams compromised of minor leaguers, college players, and guys playing in Europe. However, they were no match for the non-NHL players European nations had at their disposal, and of the six medals dished out at those two Olympics, only one made it to North America; a bronze for Team Canada at the 2018 Games.

Sure on the ladies' side of the equation the US and Canada are still the dominant powers, but losing like that on the men's side was kind of embarrassing.

Now, with NHLers coming back in 2026, the world is on notice.

Canada, of course, will have Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, Nathan MacKinnon, and probably even Sidney Crosby and more, but make no mistake, the US might have the most firepower it has ever had.

Think about it: all Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, Kyle Connor, and more. Then between the pipes? How does some combination of Jeremy Swayman,  Connor Hellebuyck, Thatcher Demko, and/or some grizzled vets like Jonathan Quick or Jonathan Gibson sound?

It sounds pretty damn good, that's how it sounds. 

And that's before we even add some up-and-comers like Seattle netminder Joey Daccord and pretty much every member of the 2024 gold medal-winning World Juniors team.

It's so good that I guarantee you're yelling at your phone or computer right now because I forgot someone.

It's been a while since the US has had an embarrassment of riches like that. They'll need it if they want to win Olympic gold for the first time since 1980.

I don't want to say it's gold or bust in ‘26… but it’s gold or bust.