Gary Bettman says he's been asking to have hockey moved to the Summer Olympics for years

During TNT's broadcast of the 2022 Winter Classic, former NHLer Anson Carter asked NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman if he has ever thought about the possibility of hockey returning to the Summer Olympics.

Bettman responded by saying that he's held conversations with the International Olympic Committee since the mid-1990s regarding that topic but they don't want to move hockey from the Winter Olympics to the Summer Olympics.

Having hockey in the Summer Olympics would probably make the NHL and its owners a bit more willing to send their players. The Summer Games are usually held from late-July to early/mid-August, so the NHL wouldn't need to adjust their schedule with players being off for those months. Logistically it would make sense because the NHL wouldn't need to take a three-week break and lose revenue while their players would get what they want by representing their nation. It just seems like a win-win scenario for both sides.

If the IOC does decide one day to switch hockey from the Winter Olympics, it wouldn't be the first time that the sport has been played in the Summer Games.

The very first appearance hockey made was at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium where Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, took home the inaugural gold medal for the sport by defeating Sweden 12-0.

It's unlikely that the IOC would move hockey from the Winter to Summer Olympics in time for Paris 2024, but the next one after that is set for 2028 in Los Angeles, California, a place that has grown to love hockey over the past few decades. Los Angeles also has an incredible arena that they could use, crypto.com Arena, home of the Kings and if a second venue is required, thirty minutes down the road is the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks.

Hockey at the Summer Olympics makes a lot of sense for both the NHL and the players. Hopefully Gary Bettman can eventually convince the IOC to move the sport to the Summer Games for the sake of the league, its players and the fans.

Anson Carter asked Gary Bettman on TNT if he ever considered investigating if they could play hockey at the summer olympics, Bettman said that's a conversation he's been having with the IOC since the mid-1990's, they won't move it.— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) January 2, 2022

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