NHL players will compete in 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after deal reached
The NHL will send its players to the Winter Olympics for a sixth time.
The league had included a Feb. 7-22 break in its 2021-22 schedule for the Beijing Olympics while negotiations continued. A deal was reached on Friday.
The agreement between the National Hockey League, NHL Players' Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation allows for the possibility of a later decision to withdraw in the event that evolving COVID-19 conditions render participation by players to be impractical or unsafe.
NHL players participated in the Olympics in 1998 (Nagano), 2002 (Salt Lake City), Torino (2006), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014). But players didn’t go to Pyeongchang in 2018.
Players enjoy suiting up for their country, so the possibility of going was included in the last collective bargaining agreement.
Owners, however, are not as keen. Even though their stars are performing on an international stage, they feel the break robs momentum from the NHL season. There’s the potential for a season-altering injury, and with Beijing a 12-hour time difference from New York, live games won’t be broadcast during prime time.
But once again, the Olympic tournament will be the best against the best.
Canada has won three of the tournaments featuring NHL players, including the last two. The Czech Republic won in 1998 and Sweden won in 2006. Russia won in 2018.
Under the format, there will be three group of four countries. Eight countries (USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russian Olympic Committee, Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland), plus host China were already guaranteed spots. Denmark, Slovakia and Latvia clinched the final three spots in qualifying tournaments late last month.
The USA is seeded sixth and is in a group with top-seeded Canada, Germany (7) and China (12).
The three group winners, plus the second-ranked team with the best record will advance to the quarterfinals while the remaining eight team will play a qualification game to clinch a playoff spot.