“The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL players to represent their countries and participate in a ‘best on best’ tournament,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
“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,” Commissioner Bettman said.
“But from what I’m hearing, and my personal opinion as well, is that the players are going to put their own health and their own families and their own clubs’ situation as priorities ahead of going to Beijing and dealing with some very unpredictable scenarios.
However, the players highly valued returning to the Olympics, and when the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement was extended through the 2025-26 season, they agreed to go to the 2022 Beijing Olympics and 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics if they could reach an agreement with the IIHF.
“Since the CBA extension was reached 17 months ago, NHL players have looked forward with great anticipation to once again participating in the Winter Olympics,” NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said in a statement.
Following the NHL Board of Governors meeting Dec.
There was no deadline for the NHL to withdraw from the Olympics, but NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said there would have been financial costs had it happened after Jan.
“It’s difficult to kind of wrap your head around, given the fact that we thought we would have the opportunity this time,” Crosby said.
14 that the United States would use players from the American Hockey League, European leagues, the NCAA, and the player pool for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
‘Regardless, we remain excited about the upcoming Olympic Winter Games and look forward to putting a team together that gives us the best chance to win a gold medal in Beijing.
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