MILAN -- More than a decade after the NHL and its players last participated in the Olympics, the anticipation for the sport at the Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in February is palpable here in Italy's second-largest city.

Why wouldn't it be?

As NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly pointed out, the return of the world's elite performers to the event is yet another example of how the game's footprint continues to expand globally.

The NHL has held past exhibition contests in Australia and China to showcase the game in recent years and will continue its successful Global Series this year with the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins playing in Sweden on Nov. 14 and 16. That event will serve as an appetizer to the Olympics and, perhaps, regular-season games in countries like Germany

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