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NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has doubled down on warnings about the league’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics, saying Monday that NHL players will not travel to Italy if the rink being built in Milan is deemed unsafe.
Concerns about the size and construction schedule of the main track have arisen in the weeks leading up to the 2026 Games. Last week, Daly said Matt Larkin from DailyFaceoff that “if no rink is completed, there will be no NHL players going to the Olympics.”
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly speaks at a joint NHLPA and NHL press conference at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2025. (Brian Babineau/NHL via Getty Images)
But speaking at the NHL Board of Governors meeting on Monday, Daly clarified that he did not believe construction concerns were “insurmountable.” However, he noted that security concerns were another story.
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“We have offered and are utilizing our ice experts and technicians and outside vendors,” Daly said. via ESPN. “We’re basically moving everyone there to try to help get this done in a way that’s acceptable to NHL athletes. And I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be fruitful.”
But Daly added that if players feel the ice quality is unsafe, “then we’re not going to play.”
The return of NHL players to the Olympics after more than a decade away depends entirely on organizers’ ability to build the venue in time (and safely) for the men’s competition, which will be held from February 11 to 22.
Local organizers told The Associated Press in October that the main test event scheduled in December for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia stadium was moved to a smaller stadium and that completion of the main stadium will be down to the wire.
Construction continues on the Milano Santagiulia ice hockey stadium for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, on January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
NHL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WARNS PLAYERS MAY SKIP 2026 OLYMPICS AMID CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS
But last week, Milan Cortina Games chief operating officer Andrea Francisi told the AP that “there is no plan B” and that new test events have been scheduled until the second week of January.
The rink itself will also be smaller than a standard NHL rink by more than three feet, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed on Monday.
“While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the size of the rink used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and are fully consistent with the dimensions required by the NHL as part of its Global Series arena specifications,” the federation said. “All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, the NHL, the NHLPA, the IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in court specifications are insignificant and should not affect either the safety or the quality of the game.”
Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates with his teammates after scoring against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations ice hockey game at Bell Center. (David Kirouac/Image Images)
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The season will be on pause during the Olympic Games. If the rink doesn’t meet NHL standards, Daly said Monday there was a backup plan.
“Well, I can’t tell you exactly what we do,” he said. “What I would say is that in emergency situations like this in the past, we have responded appropriately, we have found good solutions and I have no doubt that we will be able to find good solutions if we face that.”
