The NHL, NHLPA and international officials on Wednesday finalized a long-ago agreed-to deal to send players to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The league, union, International Ice Hockey Federation and International Olympic Committee confirmed the participation of NHL players at the games for the first time since 2014.

IIHF president Luc Tardif called it “a major step forward for our sport.”

The deal opens the door for NHL participation to continue in 2030, something that had also been agreed to in February 2024.

Last month, the 12 participating countries unveiled the first six players on their Olympic rosters. The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Games is scheduled to run from Feb. 11-22.

Kings add players

The Kings signed four players to two-way contracts Wednesday, a day after the opening of free agency.

Defenseman Samuel Bolduc joined forwards Logan Brown, Cole Guttman and Taylor Ward among those inking new pacts. Bolduc, Brown and Ward agreed to one-year deals.

Ward, re-signed after spending all or part of the past four seasons with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, where he’ll ply his trade for at least one more year now.

Bolduc, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound left defenseman with 52 games of NHL experience, effectively replaced Caleb Jones, another NHL-AHL tweener, after he signed with Pittsburgh. Bolduc had spent his entire career in the New York Islanders’ system.

Guttman, 26, who won an NCAA championship with Denver, played his entire career in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He has 14 points in 41 NHL games with Chicago, but spent all of last season with its AHL team in Rockford. He signed a two-year deal.

Brown, once a lottery pick, drafted 11th overall in 2016 by Ottawa, has 99 games of NHL experience between the Senators and St. Louis Blues. He missed the entire 2023-24 season after undergoing hip surgery. Last season, he rebounded brilliantly with his best AHL campaign to date.

— Anderew Knoll

Free agency

Nikolaj Ehlers remains unsigned 30 hours into NHL free agency, as the top player available continued to weigh his options in what could be one of the final big moves of the offseason.

Ehlers was already a rarity as a sought-after free agent who let the opening day of free agency go by without signing a contract, opting instead to sit back and consider his options. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Washington are considered among the teams interested in pursuing the 29-year-old from Denmark who played his first nine seasons with Winnipeg.

Ehlers and his camp watched Tuesday as fellow winger Brock Boeser re-signed in Vancouver for just over $50 million and older forward Mikael Granlund got $7 million annually from Anaheim. With the salary cap increasing a record amount to $95.5 million and a lack of high-end talent available, Ehlers could sign the most lucrative contract among players changing teams this summer.

Among those on the move Wednesday:

Defenseman Brent Burns agreed to terms with Colorado on a contract for next season. The 2017 Norris Trophy winner is 40 and past his prime, but he averaged nearly 23 minutes a game on Carolina’s run to the Eastern Conference final.

After signing Andrew Mangiapane late Tuesday night, Edmonton added another forward, Curtis Lazar.

The Islanders signed Maxim Shabanov after the sought-after KHL forward drew interest from multiple teams interested in bringing him to North America.

The Rangers agreed to terms with Taylor Raddysh, New Jersey re-signed Cody Class, Pittsburgh added Anthony Mantha and Alexander Alexeyev, St. Louis signed Pius Suter and Detroit got Mason Appleton.