IIHF keeping Olympic overtime rules after Canada coach Jon Cooper’s ‘TV-driven’ gripe

Jon Cooper’s whining about the Olympic overtime rules has fallen on deaf ears.

After the Canada men’s hockey coach blasted the “TV-driven” 3-on-3 overtime format used by the International Ice Hockey Federation following his team’s gold-medal loss to Team USA on Sunday, IIHF president Luc Tardif told The Athletic that the overtime structure “will remain the same.”

“It’s the best rules to fit in a tight schedule,” Tardif said. “We have to figure out 30 games in 11 days for men and for the women 28 games in 13 days — 58 (games) all together in 16 days.

“Huge challenge.”

Canada head coach Jon Cooper reacts during the team’s loss to the U.S. in the Olympic gold-medal game on Feb. 22, 2026. Getty Images

The IIHF adopted the 3-on-3 overtime, like the NHL uses for the regular season, to try to lessen the chance of shootouts; the NHL switches to five-on-five overtimes with no shootouts in the playoffs. Not having a cap on the number of overtimes before the gold-medal game isn’t an option, according to Tardif, because of the frenetic schedule at the Winter Games.

The overtime lasts five minutes in the preliminary round, followed by a five-round shootout if necessary; the quarterfinal and semifinal overtimes increase to 10 minutes, followed by a shootout, and the gold-medal game features 20-minute overtimes.

Cooper, the Tampa Bay Lightning coach who’s won two Stanley Cups, complained about the rules after Jack Hughes’ golden goal 1:41 into overtime secured Team USA’s first gold medal in men’s hockey since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

“You take four players off the ice, now hockey’s not hockey anymore,” Cooper said. ”There’s a reason overtime and shootouts are in play — it’s all TV-driven to end games, so it’s not a long time. There’s a reason why it’s not in the Stanley Cup Final or playoffs.”

Jack Hughes celebrates Team USA’s gold-medal win over Canada on Feb. 22, 2026. Getty Images

Cooper wasn’t the only one griping after Canada’s loss. Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon seemed bitter about taking silver.

“You be the judge of who was the better team today,” MacKinnon, who missed a wide-open net midway through Sunday’s third period, said after the loss.