The NHL does not have permission to show videos from the Olympic Games, much to fans’ frustration. But during Thursday’s tournament opener for Team Canada, the league found a hilarious workaround.
Both Team Canada and Team USA opened their Olympic hockey tournaments last night—and both won. First, Team USA defeated Latvia men’s national ice hockey team 5–1, and later Canada beat Czechia men’s national ice hockey team 5–0.
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NHL rounded the Olympic rules
Because of broadcasting restrictions, media outlets are not allowed to show video clips from the Games. This means any footage posted by anyone other than the Olympics’ official social media accounts is taken down. Fans are therefore limited to official broadcasts and Olympic-owned platforms, according to Sports Illustrated.
But during Canada’s game against Czechia, the NHL found an amusing way around the rules on X.
Fans can’t stop laughing
Instead of posting a standard photograph of Macklin Celebrini’s 1–0 goal, the league shared a playful animation created by the X-account artist NBA Paint.The clip humorously illustrates the puck’s path from Cale Makar’s stick, to Celebrini, and into the net. Fans are now praising the league for its creativity:
“If you squint, it’s like you’re actually at the Olympics,” one fan wrote.
“Significantly funnier than using AI—everyone else needs to take notes,” added another.
“Epic way to work around a social embargo,” a third chimed in.
You can watch the hilarious video below.
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