The NHL is currently on its Olympic break. For the first time since 2014, NHL players are playing at the Olympics. As multiple players from the league participate, some notable names are missing, such as Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. This is due to Russia being banned from the games.
The NHL is currently working on a 2028 World Cup after the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off last February and the excitement of the 2026 Olympics. Now, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has addressed the status of Russia for that event, per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.
“We will follow what the international community is doing in terms of athletics. I don’t see any need for us to weigh in separately,” Bettman said. “And frankly, in terms of our game and our players, wherever they’re from, if we can steer clear of geopolitical issues — not just this one but a whole host of others that are going on — I think that’s better for the game, better for our players and better for our fans.”
Bettman dodged the question about including Russia, and seemingly Belarus, when discussing the upcoming World Cup. Those two nations have been banished from competition on the international stage since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The IOC has given the suggestion that U-18 players be allowed to return to competition from those two countries, in 2027-28, but has not made the same move for the senior levels.
IIHF president Luc Tardif joined Bettman in the news conference on Thursday, and also spoke on re-integrating Russia into international hockey play.
“We try to keep away the politics from our competition, but sometimes that’s not so easy,” Tardif said. “We want, as soon as possible, the Belarussians and the Russians back. Because first, it will mean that the world will be a little bit better. But every time when we have to say to Belarus and Russia that it’s a little bit too soon to come back, we (make) the decision. But we follow the recommendation of IOC. And for the team sports, at the moment they’re not allowed to participate at the Olympics.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics have been billed as featuring the top hockey players in the world, but without the all-time leading NHL goal scorer and some of the other best players on the planet, the events will still be lacking in some capacity. It seems that until politicians clear the way, the Russian players will still be on the sidelines.
