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NHL Notebook: Gary Bettman discusses 2026 Olympic arena construction concerns
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Ryley Delaney
Nov 15, 2025, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 15, 2025, 18:43 EST
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The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics are right around the corner.
Despite that, one of the stadiums to be used for hockey, the PalaItalia Santa Giulia, has yet to be completed. In an article for Swedish site hockeysverige, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman noted that he’s concerned about the stadium not being completed and will send down inspectors next week.
“There seem to be some issues, including with the ice,” Bettman said. “And while the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation are responsible and have said that we have nothing to be concerned about, we will send our own people to take a look ourselves, because the well-being of our players playing in this tournament is the most important thing.”
The biggest concern is with the ice, noting that it’s “vitally important”, but the league has been told that everything will be okay. It’s expected that the arena will be completed sometime in December, just three months before hockey at the Olympics are supposed to begin on Feb. 11.
“I just want a factual analysis of what’s going on and what the realistic prospects are, and to get a handle on the things that still need to be done,” Bettman added.
Teams will be off from Feb. 5 until Feb. 24, as 12 nations battled for the Gold Medal. Team Canada is in a group with Czechia, Switzerland, and France. The other eight teams are Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, and Italy in Group B, and the United States, Germany, Latvia, and Denmark in Group C.
It’s the first Olympics to feature NHL players since the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, a tournament that Canada won for back-to-back Olympic Gold Medals. Russia won the Gold Medal in the 2018 Olympics, and Finland won the 2022 Olympics.
“We’re excited, assuming everything falls into place, because we don’t think there’s anything better than best-on-best hockey,” Bettman said. “Whether it’s the World Cup or the Olympics, it’s incomparable. It’s disruptive to our season, and we understand that, and there are issues regarding various media rights and such that we have to deal with. But overall, it’s important for our players to be able to represent their countries, and that’s principally why we go.
“It gives the players an opportunity to show how good they are and how great our game is, and it gives us a very broad, worldwide platform. So again, it’s a balance. And overall, it comes out in favor of going.”

Other NHL News and Notes…

  • The Devils will be without alternate captain Jack Hughes for a few games, as he suffered an injury in an off-ice incident. Hughes will miss Saturday’s game, and there’s no timetable for his return.
  • Another top team in the Eastern Conference, the Montréal Canadiens, will be without Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle for an extended period of time. Newhook will be out for four months to repair a fractured ankle, while Guhle will be out due to surgery to repair an adductor muscle and is listed as out for 8-10 weeks.
  • On Thursday, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand reached the 1,000 point mark, becoming the 1,00th player to reach the milestone in NHL history. Only 24 of those points have come with the Panthers, as he was acquired from the Boston Bruins ahead of the 2025 trade deadline.
  • The 2027 Memorial Cup will be hosted by an Ontario Hockey League team, with the two finalists being the Guelph Storm and the Kitchener Rangers. Last season, the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Rimouski Océanic hosted the annual event, while the Kelowna Rockets are set to host the tournament in May 2026. Kitchener last hosted the tournament in 2008, and Guelph last hosted it in 2002.
  • Matthew Schaefer’s impressive rookie campaign has continued, as he became the youngest player in league history to score an overtime winner, a record held by Sidney Crosby. Through 18 games this season, the left-shot defenceman has seven goals and 15 points for the New York Islanders.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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