TORONTO — The NHL is returning to the Winter Olympics in 2026, with a scaled-down best-on-best tournament as an appetizer next year.
While the NHL celebrated an announcement Friday signaling a return to best-on-best international competitions for the first time since 2016, the sexual assault scandal involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior championship team continues to be an issue for Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar.
Makar has no issues for the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, and should, health permitting, be a lock to play for Canada. His status for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, because of his association with the 2018 WJC team, remains to be determined.