National Hockey League players will not participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The NHL published the corresponding statement on its website on Wednesday, December 22.
The NHL said the decision was made because of a regular season violation of the League due to an increase in Covid-19 cases and an increase in the number of postponed games.
< p> – The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL players to represent their countries and participate in the tournament. We have waited as long as possible to make this decision, exploring all the options available so that our players can compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Unfortunately, given the major changes to the NHL regular season schedule caused by the new strain Covid-19, as of December 23, 50 games have already been postponed, so participation in the Olympic Games & # 8212; impossible, said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
In September, the NHL Players Association and the League reached an agreement with the IIHF to return players to the Games for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
An NHL All-Star Weekend is on hiatus from February 3-22 in the NHL Regular Season. NHL All-Star Weekend-2022, as previously planned, will take place in Las Vegas.
Previously, the NHL paused in its championship so that players could go to the Olympics in 1998-2014. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing from February 4-20, 2022.
