NHL officially pulls the plug on Olympic attendance
The National Hockey League announced in an official statement on Wednesday that the NHL players would not be granted permission to attend the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement amid heavy speculation that players would not be able to attend, confirming what most of us already suspected.
You can read the NHL's statement below.
«The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL Players to represent their countries and participate in a 'best on best' tournament. Accordingly, we have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our Players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games,» NHL Commissioner�Gary Bettman�said. «Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events -- 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23 -- Olympic participation is no longer feasible. We certainly acknowledge and appreciate the efforts made by the International Olympic Committee, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Beijing Organizing Committee to host NHL Players but current circumstances have made it impossible for us to proceed despite everyone's best efforts. We look forward to Olympic participation in 2026.
«Our focus and goal have been and must remain to responsibly and safely complete the entirety of the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs in a timely manner. Therefore, with stringent health protocols once again in place, we will begin utilizing available dates during the Feb. 6-22 window (originally contemplated to accommodate Olympic participation) to reschedule games that have been, or may yet be, postponed.»
With the NHL hoping that it can avoid any further delays to the season and play all 50 games - or at least the majority of those 50 games - during the break in the schedule to accommodate the Olympic Games, it appears unlikely that the NHL wants to postpone any more games after the pause.
