NHL pulls out of Olympics due to COVID-19 surge
NHL players will not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to COVID-19 issues, the league announced Wednesday.
The regular-season schedule has been substantially disrupted due to a rising number of players in COVID-19 protocol and postponed games. The NHL recently announced a return to enhanced COVID-19 procedures and paused the season until after the holiday break.
The February 6-22 break — originally scheduled to accommodate Olympic participation — will now be used to reschedule games that have been or will be postponed.
“The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL Players to represent their countries and participate in a ‘best on best’ tournament,” Bettman said in a statement. “Accordingly, we have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our Players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
“Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the NHL’s regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events — 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23 — Olympic participation is no longer feasible.
“We certainly acknowledge and appreciate the efforts made by the International Olympic Committee, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Beijing Organizing Committee to host NHL Players but current circumstances have made it impossible for us to proceed despite everyone’s best efforts. We look forward to Olympic participation in 2026.”
This will be the second straight Olympic men’s hockey tournament without NHL players.
“While we’re disappointed, we certainly respect the decision of the NHL and the NHLPA,” USA Hockey said in a statement. “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.
“With the NHL personnel we previously announced as part of our management team and coaching staff no longer available, we’ll shortly begin announcing new people to fill those roles. Further, we expect to name our final roster by mid-January.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 11:55 AM.
