NHL, NHLPA give IOC deadline on development of Olympic ranks

The NHL and NHLPA are looking for progress when it comes to the unfinished construction of the hockey rink for the 2026 Olympics.

After NHL senior director of facilities operations/hockey operations Derek King and executive vice president for NHL events Dan Matsuzaki visited the venue in Italy earlier this month, the league and players’ association have given the International Olympic Committee (IOC) a month to show progress with the rink, Sportsnet’s Elliotte reported on Saturday.

“I think the thing we’re all trying to figure out is: When does the fear set in?” Friedman said during Saturday’s headlines on the part Hockey night in Canada. “We’re all looking forward to Olympic hockey, it’s going to be a fantastic tournament, but I think the NHL and the players’ association are just biting their tongues right now.

“They don’t want to put gasoline on it. Basically, I think they’re giving everybody here a month. Just to sort this out before Christmas and show that it’s really going somewhere.”

The first Olympic sport in field hockey is the women’s preliminary round, which will begin on February 5, just one day before the opening ceremony.

A test event that was scheduled to take place at the rink in December was moved due to construction delays.

“I was one of the people who said this week that there is no plan B,” Friedman said. “There’s no other option. I think it’s the league and the athletes who said to the Olympic Committee, ‘There’s no plan B, we’re going there and that’s it.’

“I heard it was the other way around. It was the Olympic Committee that said, ‘No. We’re building this, and we’re not going anywhere.’

In late October, officials for the Milan-Cortina Olympics discussed the arena’s development at a ceremony to celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2026 Games.

“We are confident that we will have a beautiful facility, and we will be ready to hold a test event in the first week of January, which will be very important because it has never been used,” said Milan-Cretina CEO Andrea Vernier.

“We need to check the snow, which is temporary, not permanent, and also the work of the whole facility, which will be visited a lot.”

Now just 82 days away from hosting the world’s top athletes, the IOC will have to take some important steps over the next 30 to keep the NHL and its players satisfied.

– With files from The Associated Press