IIHF President Luc Tardif drops a bomb about the NHL at the 2030 Olympics

We are just three weeks away from the opening of the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics, where NHLers will compete on the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014.

But, as IIHF President Luc Tardiff tells it, it might be the last time we see NHLers at the Olympics for awhile... again.

There have been some much publicized issues with the Olympic arena in Milan concerning the rink and the team's dressing rooms that have gone viral on social media. And Tardiff believes that these issues will have an impact on negotiations between the NHL, the IIHF and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Tardiff said today that he's eager to get the NHL signed on for the 2030 French Alps Olympics but that, "Given how things have gone in Milan and how rocky it's been, that's going to be an interesting conversation."

If we know Gary Bettman at all, we know that he'll do everything possible to keep NHLers from playing in the Olympics.

Now, having said that... if we know anything at all about NHL players it's that they'll do everything possible to play in the Olympics.

One thing's clear, if things go sideways for the NHL in Milan there's a very real possibility that we could go another dozen years before they return to the Olympics.

Sigh...