\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Petr](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3979808_web1_CP175779544.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
Petr David Josek \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (left) and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said at a press conference today in Milan, alongside IIHF president Luc Tardif, that they hope to have best-on-best men\u2019s hockey tournaments every two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, we follow the recommendation of (International Olympic Committee). We try to keep away the politics from our competition, but sometimes that\u2019s not so easy,\u201d said Tardif.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want, as soon as possible, Belarus and the Russians back. Because first, it will mean the world will be a little bit better. But we follow the recommendation of the IOC. And, for the team sports at the moment, they\u2019re not allowed to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, the IIHF has opened the door for a potential return at the under-18 level as early as 2028 \u2014 a possibility that has stirred controversy as the invasion of Ukraine continues.<\/p>\n
Tardif would only add that the \u201csecurity of the players \u2014 including the Russians and Belarus\u201d must be considered.<\/p>\n
Following Canada\u2019s 5-0 victory over Czechia on Thursday, Connor McDavid was asked for his opinion. Should the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Artemi Panarin and Andrei Vasilevskiy be here competing alongside their NHL peers?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to play hockey. I don\u2019t have an answer to that question,\u201d said McDavid.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, neither Bettman nor Walsh was eager to weigh in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will follow what the international community is doing in terms of athletics,\u201d said Bettman. \u201cI don\u2019t see any need for us to weigh in separately, and frankly, in terms of our game and our players, from wherever they\u2019re from, if we can steer clear of geopolitical issues \u2014 not just this one but a whole host of others that are going on \u2014 I think that\u2019s better for the game, better for our players and better for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Walsh: \u201cThis is a decision based above my level of pay, and it\u2019s something that we\u2019ll see as you move forward here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to other matters, Bettman and Walsh were pressed on whether the NHL might consider adopting the Olympic point system, which awards three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win and one for an overtime or shootout loss.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t hold your breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t much discussion. We like what we have and we like the way it plays out over our 82-game season and our playoffs, the way we do it,\u201d said Bettman. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s a little unfair, for lack of a better word, to compare a two-week tournament to a 10-month season\u2026. we\u2019re aware that there are alternatives. But we\u2019re not in search of a problem to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NHL is committed to participating in the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps. Plans are also underway to revive the World Cup of Hockey beginning in 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be on a regular rotation of best-on-best every two years, Olympics, World Cup, Olympics, World Cup. Obviously the logistics for us are a lot different when we control the event. We come here as invited guests,\u201d said Bettman.<\/p>\n
That arrangement presents unique challenges, including the NHL\u2019s inability to freely use Olympic media content for its purposes. Discussions on that front are ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe that both the IOC and IIHF have been a tad more flexible in terms of the things that we can do, particularly with respect to intellectual property and how the games are covered so that we don\u2019t completely disappear for a couple of weeks,\u201d said Bettman.<\/p>\n
Details about the World Cup, including host cities, could be announced soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hockey world from the NHL\/NHLPA standpoint is in a better place when The Players\u2019 Association and the league are co-operating and, internationally, when these three organizations are collaborating,\u201d said Bettman.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it gives us an opportunity to grow the game in places where we\u2019re not as strong as, say, we are in North America and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with Luc in furtherance of growing the game. That\u2019s the goal, and the more things that we can figure out to do together, the better it will be for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walsh said concerns about compressed NHL schedules, and an increased injury risk, must be weighed \u2014 especially with the league expanding to 84 regular-season games next year.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cI think as time moves on we\u2019ll work closely with the league,\u201d he said. \u201cWorry about the scheduling as we move forward here. It\u2019s been condensed in a very short period of time, the 4 Nations (Face-Off), the Olympics and the (World Cup) two years down the road. So that\u2019s something we have conversations on and we continue to have those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n Walsh was also asked to explain why the NHLPA is offering hotel accommodations to players who choose them rather than having everyone stay in the athletes\u2019 village. The Canadian team, for example, moved out after one night, citing a desire to maximize comfort in pursuit of a gold medal. <\/p>\n \u201cWe make sure we take care of our players and their families, so we have hospitality for our players\u2019 families and we\u2019re making sure that they\u2019re taken care of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur role always has been that way, as far as long before I was the head of the PA.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n