NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told journalists on Wednesday that the League had been caught up in the conversation that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had previously had a hockey competition between American and Russian players.
“We have learned it on this subject in media relationships,” said Bettman NHL GM annual meetings In West Palm Beach, Florida. “I’m not going to speculate or something else. That’s what it is.”
According to a summary published Tuesday by the KremlinThe President of the United States, Trump, would have supported the idea of Russian President Putin to organize hockey matches in the United States and in Russia featuring the NHL and KHL players. The conversation between the two leaders occurred during a telephone call on the Russian war in Ukraine, although the White House declaration did not mention hockey.
The NHL also published a statement on Tuesday, saying that it had read the conversation between Trump and Putin afterwards.
“Obviously, we were not part of these discussions, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment for the moment”, the According to the league declaration.
Bettman referred to this statement at a press conference, summarizing three days of NHL GM meetings in Florida, where he spoke of the Success of the confrontation of the 4 nations And the next international calendar. NHL players should attend the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, ItalyAfter not having participated in the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Games. The national hockey federations had to use players outside the NHL in the last two winter games.
It remains to be seen if Russia will have a team in Milan.
IIHF has suspended Russia and Bélarus International competition since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, began in 2022. This suspension remains in place until the end of the 2025-2026 season. But the Olympic International Committee decides on Russian participation in the Olympic Games.
When NHL and NHLPA announced in February 2028 Hockey World Cup Tournament – which will be executed separately from the IIHF – the two parties noted that they will monitor world events before deciding whether Russian players will participate or not.
“I would love to see our Russian players play again in these tournaments,” said NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh in February. “They are incredible hockey players. The problems are political. Not political with regard to the NHLPA – this is the global policy that we must pass. I hope that by getting closer to the Olympic Games, closer to the World Cup, we will start to review the Russian athletes in the competition. ”
“The International Federation has just voted to keep Russia away from many competitions, just like many other sports, and we will have to see what the International Olympic Committee does,” Bettman also said in February before the 4 nations confrontation, who did not include Russian players. “But we have enough time to deal with the realities of what the world situation looks like before that.”
The KHL has left the jurisdiction of the Russian Hockey Federation and has become a non-member of the IIHF before the 2024-25 season. In May 2024, the IIHF also sentenced a fine to the Russian Hockey Federation $ 1.1 million for violating international IIHF transfer regulations at the signing Philadelphia flyers Ivan Fedotov has a contract with CSKA Moscow from the KHL.
Get the latest news and trend stories by followingThe Hockey News on Google NewsAndIn subscription to the Newsletter Hockey News here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on Thn.com.
