The NHL allowed players to refuse to participate in the 2026 Milan Olympics

NHL Vice Commissioner Bill Daley said that hockey players may refuse to participate in the Olympics if they consider the arena unsafe. The NHL wrote about this on its website on December 9.

"If the players think the ice is unsafe, we won't play. Everything is simple. I'm not too worried about it. In fact, my information is more positive than negative. The latest reports that I received at the meeting were positive," the vice commissioner is quoted as saying on the website.

He also stated that the size of the rink in Milan will be smaller than those set by the NHL standard. So, according to the standard of the North American league, the length of the rink should be 60 m, and 59 m is planned in Milan. Bill Daley noted that these changes were not noticed during the first check. He also added that the NHL and the NHL Players' Association have not received complaints from the hockey players themselves about the quality and size of the ice.

"Even while visiting the site, I'm not sure if anyone noticed it. They don't bring roulette there. So for some reason, everything went back to the way it was," Bill Daley said.

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Earlier, on December 4, Bill Daley had already reported that hockey players might not go to the Olympics in Italy if the rink was not finished. He also clarified that another reason for refusing to participate could be the size of the rink, which would not meet NHL standards.

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