NHLers 'not going' to Olympics if ice isn’t ready and safe, reiterates deputy commissioner

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is “disappointed” that the main arena slated to host ice hockey at February’s Olympics isn’t yet completed with less than two months to go before the Games are scheduled to be played.

The ice isn’t expected to go into the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, until the end of this month or early January, according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. That leaves little time to make any adjustments if there are issues with the ice.

The arena is being built from the ground up with temporary ice. It was developed by a private company, and construction started late.

NHL players are set to return to the Olympic Games after more than a decade away.

“There’s a lot we have to do to enable our players to play, including planning the shutdown of the season for two weeks,” Bettman told reporters in Winnipeg on Wednesday. “The fact that the building at this point still isn’t completed is, as I said — and I won’t use any other adjectives — is disappointing.”

Top NHL officials asked about Olympic hockey venue — and ice expectations

NHL ice technicians and experts are in Italy now to offer expertise. They were on hand Wednesday at a test event at the Rho Ice Hockey Arena, the secondary arena that will be used for hockey in Milan.

The ice inside Rho has been built in a repurposed space, and according to reports Daly received on Wednesday, the ice was good.

But officials won’t know about the ice quality in Santagiulia until the ice is created and a test event is held from Jan. 9-11. That event will simulate the Olympic tournament, with three games per day and spectators in the stands, all designed to see how the ice holds up under those conditions and temperatures. 

“In all of the prior Olympics,