Finland were the defending champions, having won their first Olympic title in 2022,[4] but were defeated by Canada in the semifinals.[5] The United States won their first gold medal since 1980, defeating Canada 2–1 in overtime in the gold medal game.[6] Finland won the bronze medal over 2022 bronze medalists Slovakia.[7]
b Tampere and Riga were the sites of the 2023 IIHF World Championship; at the conclusion of the tournament the ranking and direct qualification slots were finalized.
c France replaced banned Russia both in the men's and women's tournament, filling the final seed in both.
Format
The twelve teams were split into three groups of four teams, and played each team in the group once. A knockout system was used after the group stage. The top team of each group and the best second-ranked team advanced to the quarterfinals, while all other teams played in the qualification playoffs.
On 2 February 2024, the IIHF announced that an agreement had been reached with the National Hockey League (NHL) for a break in its regular season to allow the league's players to participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014. The NHL was originally scheduled to compete in 2022 as well but opted out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
Officials
14 referees and 12 linesmen were selected for the tournament, consisting of both IIHF and NHL officials.[10][11]
In each group, teams were ranked according to the following criteria:
Number of points (three points for a regulation-time win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout defeat, no points for a regulation-time defeat);
In case two teams were tied on points, the result of their head-to-head game determined the ranking;
In case three or four teams were tied on points, the following criteria applied (if, after applying a criterion, only two teams remained tied, the result of their head-to-head game determined their ranking):
Points obtained in head-to-head games between the teams concerned;
Goal differential in head-to-head games between the teams concerned;
Number of goals scored in head-to-head games between the teams concerned;
If three teams remained tied, result of head-to-head games between each of the teams concerned and the remaining team in the group (points, goal difference, goals scored);
Following the completion of the preliminary round, all teams were ranked 1D through 12D. The semi-finals will be reseeded according to this ranking. To determine this ranking, the following criteria were used in the order presented:
The gold medal game was played on 22 February 2026 at PalaItalia in Milan. The United States defeated Canada 2–1 in overtime, claiming the country's first men's Olympic ice hockey gold medal in the event since the 1980 Winter Olympics.[14] Coincidentally, the game took place on the 46th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice".
Jack Hughes scored the winning goal 1 minute 41 seconds into overtime, assisted by Zach Werenski and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who made 41 saves in regulation and overtime, [15] as Canada outshot the United States 42–28. Hellebuyck was named Best Goaltender of the tournament and Quinn Hughes Best Defenceman by the Tournament Directorate. The United States finished the tournament with a 6–0 record, outscoring opponents 26–9. Canada played without captain Sidney Crosby, who was sidelined after an injury in the quarterfinals against Czechia. Connor McDavid led all scorers with 13 points and was named the tournament's MVP by the Directorate.[16]
Final ranking
The gold medal game and bronze medal game determined the top 4 teams. Losers of the quarterfinals were ranked 5th–8th and losers of the qualification playoffs were ranked 9th–12th; within these, teams were ranked according to the preliminary round ranking.[13]
The U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team visit President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
United States FBI Director Kash Patel took part in the locker room celebrations of the US men's team after their gold medal win, with Matthew Tkachuk draping a medal around Patel. Patel's presence received criticisms from Democratic politicians, political commentators and others who questioned his leadership and use of government resources to travel to Milan.[18][19] Patel had previously said his trip to Italy during the Games was for the purpose of meeting with Italian law enforcement counterparts and American agencies providing security at the event, and later defended his inclusion in the locker room celebration.[20] Patel stated on social media that he had been invited into the locker room by the team to celebrate their win.[21][22]
Additionally, video of the celebrations showed President Donald Trump calling the men's team to congratulate them on their win while joking about the gold-medal winning US women's ice hockey team. After inviting the men to his State of the Union address, Trump commented "I must tell you we're going to have to bring the women too; you do know that. Believe me, I probably would be impeached, okay?" Players were recorded laughing along with his joke, with at least one player shouting "Absolutely!" and another shouting "two-for-two" reportedly acknowledging both gold medal wins by the men and women's teams.[23] Also heard in the video is an individual shouting to "close the northern border" which was attributed to player Brady Tkachuk, which he has continuously denied.[24][25] The day after the win, the team landed in Miami after being diverted due to the blizzard in the North East and continued celebrating together at the COTE Korean Steakhouse and E11EVEN Miami.[26]
The resulting video of the inclusion of Patel and the phone call sparked backlash for its sexist nature and potentially diminished the women's achievement at winning their third Olympic gold. Additional criticism was raised by members of the public who felt that players of the men's team should have not laughed, raised an objection during the call or later apologized to the women's team members.[27][28][29]Dominik Hašek a hall of fame former NHL goalie called Trump a liar and fraud who used his position to insult and bully others, after it was announced that the women's team would not visit the White House or attend the State of the Union.[23] Female athletes such as Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, Ilona Maher, Megan Rapinoe and others also posted after the call in support of the women's teams and to express their outrage at the men's teams conduct and Trumps joke.[30]
Jack Hughes later pushed back on any accusations, describing the team's relationship with the women's as "tight" and deriding that "everything is so political" and "people are so negative about things." [31][32]Jeremy Swayman told reporters that the USA men's team should have reacted differently to the comments made and that there is shared respect and excitement between the both teams.[33] Other players like Charlie McAvoy, Jake Sanderson, and captain Austin Matthews have also expressed regret for the situation and reiterated their support and appreciation for the women's team and their accomplishments.[34] Others such as Jackson LaCombe attempted to state that Trump was trying to be funny during the call and Brady Tkachuk who was unable to answer and claimed that the whole team was caught up in the moment.[35][36] US men's hockey general manager Bill Guerin dismissed the backlash stating "People react to everything nowadays" and that nothing about the celebration was political or meant to harm anyone, and that the win was for the country regardless of political stance, gender or race.[37]
Members of the Women's Olympic team responded by emphasizing unity between the programs. Captain Hilary Knight described the president’s remark as a "distasteful joke" but stated that the focus should remain on the historic achievement of both teams winning Olympic gold. Knight also stressed that it was a great teaching moment for how women athletes should be championed, but instead "Now I have to sit, anyone has to sit, in front of you and explain someone else's behavior. It's not my responsibility."[38][39]Megan Keller and Abbey Murphy similarly noted the close relationship between the men’s and women’s teams and said there was no underlying animosity, stressing that the dual gold medals were the defining story of the Games.[40][41]Kelly Pannek lamented that while she felt support and respect from the men's team throughout the Games but also stated that the phone call was unsurprising and that she did not know why the team expected differently.[27] Several members of the women's national team appeared to like social media posts critical of both Trumps comments and the actions of the men's national team shortly after the video of the celebration was posted.[42]
Following the call and resulting backlash, the majority of the men's hockey team accepted Trumps invitation to visit the White House and later attend the State of the Union. Five players, Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel, Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe and Jake Oettinger, all declined the invite for a variety of reasons.[43] Some of those who attended the White House visit did not also attend the State of Union where Trump congratulated the players who entered to a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats. During the State of the Union, Trump announced that goalie Connor Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[44][45] Jack Hughes and his brother Quinn embarked on a media tour following both the gold medal win and backlash, appearing on morning talk shows, Saturday Night Live, and The Tonight Show with women's team members Hilary Knight and Megan Keller.[46][47][48] The inclusion of the Hughes brothers on Saturday Night Live, lead by queer hockey show Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie drew backlash from fans and the author of the series Rachel Reid, who felt that the popular show and the women's team were being used by the men's national team as part of their damage control.[49][50]
Legacy
During and following the tournament, the American players paid tribute to teammate Johnny Gaudreau after he and his brother Matthew were killed in 2024 on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding in a crash at the hands of a drunk driver.[51] Gaudreau, who was 31 years-old, was in his 11th NHL season and his second with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and was a member of the United States' 2024 IIHF World Championship roster a few months prior. Family members, including the Gaudreaus' parents, his widow Meredith, and their children Johnny Jr. and Noa, attended the gold medal game, and the American players also kept a Team USA #13 Gaudreau jersey with them and brought it out onto the ice after winning gold. They displayed it in the team photo following the medal ceremony and brought Johnny Jr., who turned two the day of the gold medal game, and Noa out of the stands to join the photo.[52][53]
The puck that Jack Hughes scored with to win the gold medal game was collected and added to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) Olympics '26 collection which includes other artifacts such as jerseys, sticks and the puck from women's team member Megan Keller's golden goal. Shortly after the game, Hughes stated that he didn't know the status of the puck and that "I sure as hell don't have it". In mid-March, Hughes revisited the topic of the puck, stating it was "bullshit" for the HHOF to have the puck and that he wanted the puck back to present it to his father and keep it in the family, also raising concern why Keller was unable to keep her puck.[54] In response, the HHOF released a statement that it has curated and conserved items representing the most defining moments in hockey and the HHOF has been provided official pucks and other artifacts by the IIHF since the 1998 Winter Olympics. These pucks have included Sidney Crosby's golden goal puck from 2010 and Natalie Darwitz's puck from the 2008 IIHF Women's World Championship. Crosby was asked about Hughes comments, where he stated that he was happy and honored to score the 2010 goal and didn't really think about keeping the puck.[55][56] The day after calling out the inclusion of his puck in the HHOF, Hughes told reporters that he was honored that the puck was included in the exhibit and that "I think things were taken crazy" and that he was not going to have a follow up discussion with the HHOF about the puck stating that he has been playing hockey and not thinking about the puck.[57]
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Italy 
United States (3rd title)
Canada 
Finland 
Slovakia 
