2026 Winter Olympics at Milan-Cortine (Via Getty Images) The NHL season is past the halfway point and a crucial stretch lies ahead. The biggest event on the calendar will take place overseas when the league shuts down operations to send its best players to the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.It marks the first Olympic participation for NHL players since 2014, ending a 12-year absence that kept stars like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews from representing their countries on hockey’s biggest international stage.
International break kicking off in February
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The break will dominate the middle portion of the schedule before teams return for the trade deadline and playoff positioning battles. The timing creates a unique rhythm for the season. Teams will play their final games before the break on February 5, with seven matchups scheduled, and then the league goes dark for nearly three weeks while the hockey world turns its attention to Milan. The men’s hockey tournament begins February 11 with two games.
Olympic Tournament Schedule
Team USA opens play on February 12 against Latvia before competing in round-robin action through February 15. The format awards the three group winners and the best second-place team with byes directly to the quarterfinals. Teams ranked fifth through 12th will compete in playoff qualification games on February 17, with quarterfinals following on February 18 and semifinals on February 20. The bronze medal game is scheduled for February 21 with the gold medal game taking place February 22. No NHL trades can be processed during the Olympic break. NHL play resumes February 25 with eight games scheduled. Teams will have just nine days to evaluate their rosters before the trade deadline hits at 3 PM Eastern on March 6.
Trade Deadline and Playoff Push
The regular season concludes April 16 with six games, giving teams slightly more than a month after the deadline to solidify playoff positioning. The Stanley Cup playoffs are set to open April 18. Looking further ahead, the NHL draft takes place June 26-27 at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.Top prospects will attend while general managers work remotely, matching last year’s format. Free agency opens at noon Eastern on July 1. The Olympic break represents the season’s defining interruption, forcing teams to manage momentum while their best players compete overseas. How clubs handle the pause could determine which organizations thrive down the stretch and which fall short of playoff expectations.