Team USA’s Dylan Larkin (21) battles for position with Team Finland’s Erik Haula (56) during the second period of a 4 Nations Face-Off game on February 13, 2025 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. VINCENT ETHIER/ICON SPORTSWIRE

Nashville Predators center Erik Haula isn’t complaining about the NHL’s condensed schedule ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

By the time Haula jets off to Italy to join Team Finland for the tournament, he and his Predators teammates will have played 21 games in 40 days. The grueling stretch was necessary for the league to free up nearly three weeks for its players to participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

“I’m just glad that I get a chance to go once in 13 years,” Haula said. “It’s probably my last chance. If I never got that chance, it probably would’ve haunted me after my career.”

Haula, forward Filip Forsberg (Sweden), defenseman Roman Josi (Switzerland) and goaltender Juuse Saros (Finland) are the four Predators bound for Milan-Cortina. Although each player has extensive international hockey experience, only Josi has suited up for the Olympics before.

The NHL did not allow its players to participate in either of the last two Winter Games and faced heavy criticism on both occasions.

The league held players out of PyeongChang in 2018 following a dispute with the International Olympic Committee over costs and logistical challenges. Four years later, the NHL withdrew from the Olympics after being forced to postpone 50 games in Dec. 2021 due to COVID-19.

Haula, now 34, is appreciative and relieved for a different outcome in 2026.

“I think it’s very unfair to take that dream and chance to represent your country at the highest level away from an athlete,” he said. “It was somebody else’s decision.

“It’s a dream come true (to play this year). It was very emotional to get the news, honestly.”

The Predators (24-23-6) will enter the Olympic break on Feb. 6 with five more games under their belts compared to the same point last year. The men’s ice hockey tournament opens with preliminary contests on Feb. 11 and concludes with the gold-medal game on Feb. 22.

NHL action resumes quickly on Feb. 25 to kick off a jam-packed final six weeks of the regular season, which is likely to test roster depth across the league.

“Every team is feeling it, and every team is going through it,” Josi said. “But we all wanted it. All the players wanted to go back to the Olympics. I think it’s definitely worth it, but I don’t think we’ll be too unhappy to go back to the regular schedule next year, either.”

There could be ways to ease the scheduling burden in the future. Saros suggested starting the NHL slate “a couple weeks earlier” when the next Winter Games roll around during the 2029-30 season.

But for the quartet of Predators finally able to represent their countries on the biggest stage this year, the juice is worth the squeeze.

“It’s the best international tournament you can play,” Forsberg said. “Obviously its history is (unparalleled) in the sports world. Best-on-best hockey is the best way to do it. It’s sad that we’ve missed out on the last two, but we’re trying to make up for it.”

Team Sweden forward Filip Forsberg (9) juggles the puck in warmups before a 4 Nations Face-Off game against Team USA on February 17, 2025 at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. FRED KFOURY III/ICON SPORTSWIRE

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