NHL Reacts to Olympic Ice Arena Issues

Per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the NHL has officially weighed in on recent scheduling and size issues that have come to light ahead of the upcoming 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Apr 30, 2019; Denver, CO, USA; San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer speaks to the media following the game three win over the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Despite recent issues surrounding the construction of the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena coming to light, the NHL is remaining committed in sending its league athletes to the upcoming 2026 Milano-Cortino Olympics.

The upcoming games look to welcome various NHL players back to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade. However, construction is behind schedule and a recent ice size discrepancy has been making headline headlines. A test event at the previously mentioned arena has now been moved, with new ones not to be scheduled until Jan. 9-11. Additionally, the IIHF approved a 196.85-foot by 85.3-foot sheet of ice in Milan, which is more than three feet shorter than the NHL's standard 200-foot by 85-foot dimensions.

NHL Not Overly Perturbed By Recent Olympic Construction Issues

However, per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the league remains committed in letting its players be available to potentially earn Olympic gold. Kaplan also pointed out that NHL players have played on a rink with off dimensions before as well.

"The NHL has no control over the construction of the new 16,000-seat rink in the outskirts of Milan, and is still committed to making it work, sources told ESPN on Wednesday," Kaplan wrote in her report. "The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins played games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden last month for the Global Series in a rink that was also slightly off from NHL dimensions. The NHL's solution was to move the lines to account for the missing ice area surface in the neutral zone, rather than either offensive zone."

Reports are Milan arena will be about three feet too short, a violation of the NHL, NHLPA & IIHF’s agreement.

While not ideal, NHL still committed to sending players to Olympics & making it work - but they also need to see arena progress.

New story 🔗 https://t.co/oqfTUATBx0

— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) December 3, 2025

Team Canada's assistant coach Peter DeBoer first publicly raised the issue surrounding the dimensions in a Sportsnet radio interview on the "Real Kyper and Bourne" show following a visit to Milan earlier this fall.

"The ice surface, it looks like it's going to be smaller than NHL rink standard by probably 3 or 4 feet," DeBoer said. "I don't understand how that happened."

Kaplan also reported that the league sent a contingent to Milan within the past month in order to check in on the status of the rink, and the key information acquired was that organizers were making progress but needed to hurry up the process.

Olympic rink dimensions being slightly off is — in fact — a violation of the agreement between the NHL, NHLPA and IIHF, however it is not viewed as a concern for the league in terms of safety or even a general concern from both a current NHL player and Olympic team member.

"With the talent level there's already going to be no time and space," an unidentified player said to ESPN, with the publication disclosing he is a NHL player already named to an Olympic team. "The games are going to be incredible no matter what. Just give us a sheet of ice we'll be good."

The women's hockey tournament is scheduled to begin on Feb. 5, while the men's hockey tournament begins on Feb. 11. An official announcement surrounding finalized rosters is to be made in early January.

Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena is the new venue with over 15,000 seats being built just outside of Milan. It was also revealed there is no back-up plan should construction delays continue to arise.

"There is no Plan B," Andrea Francisi, the chief Games operations officer for Milan-Cortina, previously told The Associated Press. "So necessarily we have to be able to organize the competition in an impeccable manner at Santagiulia."

The United Stated previously announced its first six players for the Games in Milan back in June, consisting of forwards Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy. Team Canada's roster currently consists of forwards Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart and defenseman Cale Maker.

Feb 27, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) moves the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Some star Olympic hopefuls remaining in contention but not yet listed include Dylan Larkin, Clayton Keller and Jack Hughes for Team USA. Connor Bedard, Matthew Schaefer, Evan Bouchard and Sam Bennett are also being heavily considered for Canada. The preliminary rosters were set on June 16 and the roster deadline for the 12 countries playing men's hockey at the 2026 Milan Olympics is Dec. 31.

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