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Team Canada men’s hockey coach Jon Cooper may not like the three-on-three overtime format of the Olympics, but it doesn’t matter at all.
It stays in place.
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Luc Tardif told The Athletic that despite Cooper’s complaints following his team’s gold medal loss to Team USA on Sunday, they will continue to use the format in future tournaments.
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Canada’s head coach Jon Cooper responds to the media during a press conference following the men’s ice hockey final between the United States and Canada on day sixteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jean Catuffé/Getty Images)
“They are the best rules to adapt to a tight schedule,” Tardif told the outlet. “We have to calculate 30 games in 11 days for men and for women 28 games in 13 days, 58 in total in 16 days.
“A great challenge.”
The IIHF wanted to introduce the three-on-three format that the NHL uses during its regular season to avoid the use of penalty shootouts. However, the NHL makes the switch to five-on-five hockey during the playoffs with no penalty shootouts, just the game-winning goal.
Cooper, however, couldn’t help himself as he entered the overtime format after watching Jack Hughes score the gold medal goal past his goalkeeper, Jordan Binnington.
“If you take four players off the ice, hockey isn’t hockey anymore,” Cooper said, according to the New York Post. “There’s a reason they play overtime and penalty kicks — it’s all on TV to finish the games, so it doesn’t take much time. There’s a reason it’s not in the Stanley Cup Final or the playoffs.”
Head coach Jon Cooper of Team Canada speaks with his players after the team’s 3-2 victory in the men’s semi-final match between Canada and Finland on day fourteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Extra time in the preliminary rounds of the Olympic Games lasted five minutes, with a five-round penalty shootout if a winning goal was not scored in that time. For the quarterfinals and semifinals, extra time was increased to 10 minutes, followed by 20 minutes in the gold medal matches.
Canada didn’t have as clear a look at the net as Hughes did on his game-winning shot, but they had tons of opportunities throughout all three periods. In the end, the United States was able to keep the game tied at one apiece for 60 minutes, with tremendous saves from goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck, whom Secretary of War Pete Hegseth nicknamed “Secretary of Defense” for his performance.
After the game, Cooper wasn’t the only Canadian to show some bitterness about the result. Assistant captain Nathan MacKinnon, who missed an open goal in the third period that could have given Team Canada the victory, made an interesting comment to the press.
“You’re the judge of who was the better team today,” he said.
Head coach Jon Cooper of Team Canada participates during training on the second day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
While Cooper, MacKinnon and the rest of Team Canada think about what if, Team USA took Air Force One to visit President Donald Trump on Tuesday ahead of his State of the Union address. The team was seen in the Oval Office, where Trump personally congratulated each player on their tremendous achievement.
The United States won the most golds in a single Winter Olympics (12), which included the women’s ice hockey team also beating Team Canada in overtime thanks to the heroics of Megan Keller.
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