It’s official: NHL players won’t go to the 2022 Beijing Olympics

NHL players will not go to the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4-20). Several media mentioned across the Atlantic an agreement reached with the players’ union so that the franchises do not send the players to Beijing. The NHL had until January 10 to withdraw from the Olympics without paying a fine. It is now done. « Unfortunately, following major changes to the NHL regular season schedule due to recent Covid-related events with 50 matches already postponed, participation in the Olympics is no longer possible.“, explained the boss of the NHL Gary Bettman.

« Our priority is and must remain to complete our regular season and the NHL play-offs in the best possible way.he continued. This is why we are going to use the slot from February 6 to 22 initially reserved for participation in the Olympic Games to reschedule the matches which have been postponed or which will be. The NHL respects and admires the desire of NHL players to represent their country and participate in the tournament that brings together the best of the best. We waited as long as possible before making our decision and exploring all possible scenarios to allow them to participate in the Olympics.« .

Without the superstars of the NHL, the posters of the Olympic tournament will lose a lot of their tinsel, as was already the case for the past edition, in 2018 in Pyeongchang (South Korea), won by the Russians. The NHL and the players’ union had previously reached an agreement to release the players for the next two Olympics, in 2022 in Beijing and 2026 in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, if the pandemic did not upset the schedule of the championship. What happened. With the postponement of Philadelphia – Washington scheduled for Tuesday due to an outbreak of contamination in the Capitals workforce, the NHL has reached the figure of 50 staggered matches this season.

Skipping the Olympics makes it possible to add the cancellation of the two-week truce initially scheduled for the NHL calendar, and thus to play the matches that could not take place so that each franchise can play its 82 season games. regular. « Our priority is and must remain to complete our regular season and the NHL play-offs in the best possible way. This is why we are going to use the slot from February 6 to 22 initially reserved for participation in the Olympic Games to reschedule the matches which have been postponed or which will be postponed.“, clarified Gary Bettman.

Serial postponements have already led to the NHL bringing forward the Christmas truce by two days. And on Tuesday, the last day of the championship before this break, only one match (Las Vegas-Tampa Bay) could take place. The Tampa Bay coach was also absent because he was placed in Covid protocol just before kickoff.

Asked about the impossibility for them to go to the Olympics, several internationals regretted this missed opportunity. « For some reason, the Olympic card didn’t go in my favor. It sucks. I sure won’t get another chance to do it« , regretted the emblematic Canadian captain of Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos, who had missed the 2014 Olympics in Sochi through injury.

« It’s sad. It’s something we’ve been hoping for for a very long time« , added his Swedish teammate Victor Hedman. « Not being able to go, it’s gonna hurt for a while« . NHL players have participated in the Winter Olympics since 1998. In 2018, the NHL refused to release its players on the pretext that the South Korean market was not strategic for its development.