National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, left, held a meeting with International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif ©Getty Images

National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman has warned the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that "certain things are going to have to be done" to ensure its players compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Bettman revealed that he set out his demands when holding talks with IIHF President Luc Tardif during the NHL All-Star Game weekend in Florida, according to ice hockey news website Russian Machine Never Breaks.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also reportedly attended the meeting in Sunrise, home of the Florida Panthers, as officials discussed participation of NHL players at Milan Cortina 2026.

Bettman said he and Tardiff "re-expressed our desires to work together on a variety of fronts" but insisted that the NHL’s requirements must be met for players to compete at the Games in three years’ time.

International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif has prevously spoke of his optimism over National Hockey League players competing at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics ©Getty Images
International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif has prevously spoke of his optimism over National Hockey League players competing at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics ©Getty Images

"I know it’s important to the players and they’d like to play in the Olympics, but certain things are going to have to be done by some combination of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Ice Hockey Federation, and the Local Organising Committee in order for that to be reality," said Bettman.

"If they do those things, which is not a whole lot dissimilar to what’s been done in the past, then we’ll be happy to go."

Daly added: "I think most importantly we were aligned with the IIHF in our conversation as to what the issues are and what needs to be done.

"We’re in lockstep on that."

NHL players have not competed at the Winter Olympics since Sochi 2014 when Canada beat Sweden 3-0 in the final to win the gold medal for the second consecutive Games.

They did not participate at Pyeongchang 2018 after the IOC refused to pay for travel and insurance costs as it did on five previous occasions from Nagano 1998 to Sochi 2014.

NHL players have not taken part in the Winter Olympics since Sochi 2014 when Canada beat Sweden 3-0 in the final ©Getty Images
NHL players have not taken part in the Winter Olympics since Sochi 2014 when Canada beat Sweden 3-0 in the final ©Getty Images

Last year's Winter Olympics in Beijing were also without NHL players, with the league citing the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption to its regular season.

An agreement had been reached by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association which would allow players to compete at the Games.

However, a COVID-19 stipulation was inserted, which meant players would not travel to Beijing if the NHL regular season was "materially impacted" by the pandemic.

Speaking last month, Tardif said he was "optimistic" about NHL players competing at Milan Cortina 2026 and confirmed that a decision over their participation would be made by early next year.

"If we discussed directly with the players - the players want to go - we would find a way," said Tardif.

"But it's more complicated than that."