NHL officially withdraws from Olympics amid rising COVID-19 cases

As expected, the NHL pulled the plug connected participating successful the Winter Olympics successful February successful Beijing, citing the request to reschedule league games postponed this period owed to a accelerated emergence successful COVID-19 cases sparked by the omicron variant successful North America. The league and its players relation made the announcement jointly Wednesday morning.

Instead of sending the champion players successful the satellite to the 2022 Games, apical hockey nations are expected to nonstop teams made up of players from the AHL, ECHL, the NCAA and from European leagues. Men’s hockey is 1 of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics but acold from the lone one.

“Our absorption and extremity person been and indispensable stay to responsibly and safely implicit the entirety of the NHL regular play and Stanley Cup playoffs successful a timely manner,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said successful a statement. “Therefore, with stringent wellness protocols erstwhile again successful place, we volition statesman utilizing disposable dates during the Feb. 6-22 model (originally contemplated to accommodate Olympic participation) to reschedule games that person been, oregon whitethorn yet be, postponed.”

The league has postponed 50 games and expanded its yearly Christmas interruption successful bid to bounds the dispersed of COVID-19. Three Ducks games and 2 Kings games were postponed this week aft the league banned cross-border question Sunday and past expanded the vacation interruption Monday.

Ducks roadworthy games against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks indispensable beryllium made up, arsenic good arsenic a Kings’ location crippled against the Oilers and a roadworthy crippled against the Vegas Golden Knights. No constitution dates person been announced for immoderate of the postponed games, however.

Kings fans with tickets to the crippled against the Oilers volition beryllium contacted by the squad oregon their point-of-sale determination regarding postponement policies, including further accusation erstwhile the crippled is rescheduled.

No determination has been made connected further NHL postponements, though that could beryllium the adjacent domino to fall. More than 15 percent of the league’s 700-plus players were placed successful the COVID-19 protocol, incapable to signifier oregon play aft affirmative tests, astir wrong the past 2 weeks.

The determination to propulsion retired of the Olympics wasn’t taken lightly, according to Bettman.

“The National Hockey League respects and admires the tendency of NHL players to correspond their countries and enactment successful a ‘best connected best’ tournament,” helium said successful a statement. “Accordingly, we person waited arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable to marque this determination portion exploring each disposable enactment to alteration our players to enactment successful the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

“Unfortunately, fixed the profound disruption to the NHL’s regular-season docket caused by caller COVID-related events – 50 games already person been postponed done (Thursday) – Olympic information is nary longer feasible. We surely admit and admit the efforts made by the International Olympic Committee, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Beijing Organizing Committee to big NHL Players but existent circumstances person made it intolerable for america to proceed contempt everyone’s champion efforts. We look guardant to Olympic information successful 2026.”

The adjacent Winter Olympics volition beryllium successful Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.‎

NHL players archetypal participated successful the Olympics successful 1998 successful Nagano, Japan. Skipping the Beijing Games marks the 2nd consecutive Olympics without NHL players, aft the league pulled retired of the 2018 Games successful Pyeongchang, South Korea, successful a quality implicit fiscal and scheduling concerns.

“Since the CBA hold was reached 17 months ago, NHL players person looked guardant with large anticipation to erstwhile again participating successful the Winter Olympics,” Don Fehr, the players’ relation enforcement director, said. “Until precise recently, we seemed to beryllium connected a wide way to spell to Beijing. COVID-19 has unluckily intervened, forcing dozens of games to beryllium postponed this period alone.

“No substance however overmuch we privation it were not the case, we request to utilize the Olympic play to reschedule these games. Certainly, the players and hockey fans are rather disappointed. But playing a afloat 82-game play this year, thing the pandemic has prevented america from doing since the 2018-19 season, is precise important. We expect that NHL players volition instrumentality to the Olympics successful 2026.​”