"No time to talk about it": Jaccob Slavin on Olympic silence as NHL stars focus on present, not Milan yet

With less than a month to go before the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the anticipation is building for a best-on-best tournament that many NHL players and coaches have dreamed about their entire lives. For the first time in 12 years, NHL players will compete once again in the Olympics, the last one coming in Sochi in 2014.

Finalized rosters and enormous stakes don't seem to have either Canada or the United States talking all that much behind the scenes—at least, not yet. And that, in itself, says a lot. This reflects the grind of the NHL season and the urgency of arriving in Italy ready to play, but perhaps most importantly, the groundwork laid at last season's 4 Nations Face-Off.

Canada coach Jon Cooper and U.S. coach Mike Sullivan keep low profiles regarding NHL Olympic talks

Before the 4 Nations Face-Off, NHL players hadn't played a true best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Canada coach Jon Cooper and U.S. coach Mike Sullivan would routinely ask opposing NHL coaches for permission just to speak with players. That's changed.

"I don't think there's much time to talk about it," said Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who will play for Team USA. "Probably the couple of weeks before we get over there, I feel like it'll pick up a little bit more. But for now, it's just been all logistics stuff. I think it'll pick up more. But right now, I think guys are so focused on their [NHL] team and their season that's going on."

It started to come together when Canada beat the U.S. 3-2 in overtime in the final game of the 4 Nations tournament on Feb. 20 in Boston. Of great benefit was that 19 of the 25 members of Canada’s Olympic team were used in this tournament compared to the U.S. team's 21. Both countries also conducted Olympic orientation camps before the season. The Canadians did theirs in Calgary, while the U.S. did theirs in the Detroit area.

Already, Cooper has had informal sit-downs with players new to the Olympic pool but already known to him through basketball or other events, including Macklin Celebrini. In contrast, U.S. coach Mike Sullivan has kept a lower profile.

The Canadian and U.S. teams will have practices in Milan from Feb. 8 to 11 and play their Olympic games on Feb. 12: Canada vs. the Czech Republic and the U.S. vs. Latvia.

Official communication has not seen much, yet the enthusiasm continues. For the moment, the spotlight is, as always, on the NHL season. But when the calendar turns to February, the peace.

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