Olympic Broadcast Control is Complicating NHL Fans' Experience

Olympic broadcast restrictions are reshaping how hockey fans watch the Games.

Feb 12, 2026; Milan, Italy; Auston Matthews of United States shakes hands with Arturs Silovs of Latvia after the match in men's ice hockey group C play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

If you want to watch your favorite NHL player at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, then you’re going to have to actually watch the games.

On paper, that statement sounds like the most obvious thing in the entire world. Of course, the only way to view NHL players at the Olympics is to watch the games. But the situation is actually more complicated than that simple statement expresses.

The Olympics are notoriously strict. Whether it was the prohibition of professional athletes until 1988 or the infamous doping scandals that have plagued the event for decades, the Olympics have gained a reputation for control. That same control applies to broadcast rights. The world’s most prestigious event doesn’t want just any media outlet, including prominent ones like the NHL, posting clips and videos online. If it’s not from the official Olympic social media account, it will be struck down from the sky.

NHL Teams Find Creative Ways to Share Olympic Moments

Feb 12, 2026; Milan, Italy; Macklin Celebrini of Canada celebrates scoring their first goal against Czechia in a men's ice hockey group A match during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

This inflexible expectation has meant that NHL teams seeking to post their own players’ highlights from the Games have had to come up with creative solutions. For instance, when New York Islanders center Bo Horvat scored a goal for Canada in a 5-0 victory over Czechia on Feb. 12, the Islanders’ social media team posted a clip of a Horvat bobblehead scurrying around the ice at UBS Arena. While it wasn’t the exact video of Horvat netting the goal, it also carried zero risk of being taken down because of copyright law.

Celebrini cinema 😮‍💨

Czechia vs. Canada is LIVE at the #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics on @peacock, @USANetwork, @cbcsports, & @cbcgem!

(🎨: @nba_paint) pic.twitter.com/Rl54etdvTo

— NHL (@NHL) February 12, 2026

The same principle applied to Macklin Celebrini’s opening goal. To publicize the historic score from one of the NHL’s rising stars, the league, instead of posting the exact clip, created a childlike rendering of the goal. It was creative and funny and highlighted the strange world the Olympic restrictions create.

The fact that videos of the Olympic hockey tournament can’t be posted online unless they come from the Olympics’ official social media pages has ruffled some feathers within the hockey community, with some pointing out that the “ban,” for lack of a better word, doesn’t help the game grow. In one sense, they’re absolutely right. The casual fan likely isn’t traversing the official Olympic accounts for hockey content, meaning they’re less likely to stumble upon the game and grow to love it.

But in another sense, it’s understandable why the Olympics would want to attract viewers to their platforms to see the content they’re producing. After all, the Winter Olympic Games are held every four years, and this is the time to capitalize.

In the end, the reality is clear: The only way to watch your favorite NHL players at the Olympics is to watch the Olympics. It’s simple, yet also constraining. It’s easy, yet also somewhat difficult. But as with most things in this complicated world, that’s just the way life goes.

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