IIHF president Luc Tardif: 2030 Winter Olympic hockey tournament to be played in Nice, France

According to IIHF president Luc Tardif, the 2030 Winter Olympic Games will be played in Nice, France. The tournament is scheduled for Feb. 8-24.

The International Olympic Committee isn’t supposed to vote on the final host until July 23, 2024.

On Nov. 29, the IOC announced that it had designated France’s proposal as the most likely to be selected for 2030. At the time, the IOC said USA’s bid for Salt Lake City, Utah was favored to be selected in 2034.

Today’s news comes as the IIHF and the NHL confirmed that NHL players will be allowed to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games. NHLers have been not been loaned out in 2018 or 2022, and haven’t participated in best-on-best international competition since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

France is currently ranked 13th in the IIHF men’s hockey ranking, one spot below their previous best of 12th originally set in 2013. France has never won a medal in the men’s IIHF World Championship competition but has remained in the top division event since 2008. France has played in 10 previous Olympics, but nothing since 2002. As is tradition, the Olympic hosts receive an automatic bid into the main tournament.

France still has to get through the Olympic Qualification process for the 2026 tournament, set to be held in Milan, Italy.

Nice has a team in the top Finnish league, the Ligue Magnus. They currently sit ninth in the league, often finding themselves low in the standings. They play their games in the Palais des sports Jean-Bouin, a 1,200-seat arena that was opened in 1984.

Only two current NHLers – Alexandre Texier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – hail from France. Bellemare likely won’t be part of the event, being 38 years old, but Texier could be leaned upon to play a big part. The Washington Capitals drafted French goaltender Antoine Keller with the 206th pick in 2023.