The decision about whether to send NHL stars to the Olympics is a complicated web of considerations: injury risk, insurance, rules, scheduling changes and, of course, the economics. Another stipulation, facilities, took center stage in the run-up to the Milan Cortina games when the main venue was both behind schedule and too small.
Lost in much of the public discussion are the marketing and promotion rights. If the NHL and its union were going to pause their season and send players like Sidney Crosby, Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid across the globe, it wanted to be able to tell that story. That involved concessions from the IOC and the IIHF, the sport’s governing body.
“That is a foundational piece of this agreement,” NHL chief communications officer Jon Weinstein said in an interview before the start of the Games. “And the reason is, if we’re going to go there, we need people to know that these are NHL players, the best players in the world are NHL players, and they elevate the tournament.”
The results of those marketing and licensing deals have been apparent throughout the men’s hockey tournament, now down to its four semifinalists. When the U.S. beat Sweden in quarterfinals Wednesday, the NHL’s Instagram account immediately posted a clip, in collaboration with NBC, of Quinn Hughes’ overtime goal. That was followed by a clip of the U.S. team leaving the ice waving to the crowd. Fans could catch more highlights on the NHL Network’s live daily roundup show, NHL Tonight: Milano Cortina 2026, which films from inside Olympic perimeter.
That said, the league’s rights are not without limits. As a nod to those some of those restrictions—and with some humor mixed in—the league celebrated Canada forward Mitch Marner’s overtime winner against Switzerland earlier in the day in a very different way, posting a crude stick figure animation.
The NHL hasn’t taken part in a Winter Olympics since the 2014 Sochi Games, when Canada beat Sweden 3-0 in the gold medal game. Since then, global hockey fans have been largely starved of what they call “best-on-best” international competitions. The NHL organized a World Cup of hockey back in 2016 (the event is set to return in 2028) and last year created the 4 Nations Face-Off during its All-Star break, a one-off tournament that became a sensation. The IIHF’s annual World Championships happen during the Stanley Cup playoffs, which limits which stars can participate.
The decision for the NHL to participate in Milan involved coordination with the NHLPA and agreements with both the IOC and IIHF, NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. There are also deals with NBC and CBC, the broadcast partners for the Olympics in the U.S. and Canada. The NHL and NHLPA’s goal in those talks was to secure as many marketing and licensing rights as possible.
“The terms of the agreement relating to NHL player participation are confidential,” an IOC spokesperson said in an email. “However, we can say that we worked in close collaboration with the IIHF, NHL, NHLPA and Milano Cortina 2026 to support the presence of NHL players at the Olympic Winter Games. This included providing access to Olympic archive content and editorial usage of the Milano Cortina 2026 marks, permitted to promote NHL player participation in compliance with relevant news access rules and social media guidelines.”
Prior to the start of the Games, Mayer walked Sportico through the extent of the NHL’s storytelling strategy in Milan. Much of that revolves around new rights, which the league didn’t have when it sent players to Sochi. For example, NHL Network has its live 30-minute show daily from the Milano Santagiulia Arena.
The NHL used the archived Olympic content on social, like this Instagram video showcasing league stars at the Games throughout the years. It’s also an example of the league being able to use the Olympic rings, typically one of the more restrictive pieces of the IOC’s IP. For the weeks leading up to the Games, the NHL also aired an Olympics promo during games that featured a similar logo lockup.
Highlight rights come primarily via NBC and CBC. The NHL’s Instagram account, for example, has collaborated to share highlights throughout the tournament via the NBC Sports and NBC Olympics accounts. Shortly after Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring in scored his team’s quarterfinal win over Czechia on Wednesday, those three accounts co-shared a video of the goal. The San Jose Sharks retweeted a similar video posted on X by NBC.
“If a goal is scored by [American forward] Jack Hughes, social media takes over,“ Mayer said. “The New Jersey Devils will post, Jack might post. We’re really going to try to organize the system so that these highlights and moments go out to as many people as possible.”
The clips are ubiquitous. When New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat scored for Team Canada last week, the team posted a joke video of his bobblehead with the caption: “A completely realistic and copyright free look at Horvat’s goal!” (A rep for NBC didn’t respond to an email seeking comment for this story).
There’s also an increased presence by the NHL in more traditional ways. NHL.com has reporters on the ground, covering games and interviewing athletes in the mixed-zone alongside hundreds of other outlets. The NHL has international staff for its seven foreign-language websites—like its Czech and Slovak platforms—on site to boost the impact that the games has in critical overseas markets. The league has repeatedly asked players to shoot content on site that the league can then share.
It all combines for a unique—and rare—challenge for the NHL, which is used to owning and controlling its own content.
“We’re guests in someone else’s house, which is very unusual for us,” Mayer said. “Most times, people are guests in our house. So we have to be aware, and we have to be good guests.”
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