This is the right, but difficult, thing to do:
NHL announces that there will not be an Olympic break, NHL Players will not be able to participate in 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Full release: https://t.co/GkHDkNgZSo pic.twitter.com/ysBmWctzjw— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 22, 2021
Update: Here’s the PA’s release:
STATEMENT FROM NHLPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DON FEHR ON OLYMPICS
TORONTO (Dec. 22, 2021) – National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Don Fehr issued the following statement today regarding the Olympics:
“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. Until very recently, we seemed to be on a clear path to go to Beijing. COVID-19 has unfortunately intervened, forcing dozens of games to be postponed this month alone. No matter how much we wish it were not the case, we need to utilize the Olympic period to reschedule these games.
“Certainly, the players and hockey fans are quite disappointed. But playing a full 82-game season this year, something the pandemic has prevented us from doing since the 2018-19 season, is very important. We expect that NHL players will return to the Olympics in 2026.”
NHL schedule-maker will ask all 32 clubs for updated building dates, particularly for that three-week gap in February. Some buildings had gone ahead and booked non-NHL events like concerts for that period but there’s still some dates to work with. 1/2— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 22, 2021
And it’s not just about re-scheduling postponed games in that three-week period but also moving other games around from teams that actually were not affected yet by cancellations so that those teams have games to play as well during that February period. 2/2— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 22, 2021
