Overview

• The NHL, NHLPA and Serie A have agreed to a global content partnership that will create joint hockey and soccer promotional material ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
• On August 22, NHL players and Serie A stars will converge in Milan for training-ground visits and to attend AC Milan’s season opener at San Siro Stadium during the European player media tour.
• The collaboration traces back to a jersey exchange in March between Serie A legends Andrea Pirlo and Marco Materazzi and New York Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad at Madison Square Garden.
• Organisers call it the first partnership of its kind between a North American professional sports league and a European soccer league.
• The partnership capitalizes on the NHL’s first Olympic return since 2014 and aims to expand both leagues into new markets, with hockey targeting Europe and soccer focusing on North America.