The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Player's Association (NHLPA) have agreed not to send any player to participate in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022 due to the COVID-19 global situation.
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The NHL and NHLPA held a meeting recently to coordinate the participation of NHL players in the 2022 and 2026 Winter games after their exclusion from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
During the session, the sides negotiated that if the pandemic materially impacted the NHL season, the commission would have until January 2022 to announce if they would participate in the Olympics without getting a financial penalty.
"We made it a big part of our collective bargaining agreement as the players, to bring the Olympics back," said Kyle Conner of the Winnipeg Jets.
All games and activities from December 22 to 25 of the NHL were delayed. The players will return to the teams' installations on December 26, and it is expected that on December 27, games will be resumed.
"I've been fortunate enough to be part of two [Olympics]. I definitely feel for the guys who have missed numerous opportunities," Sidney Crosby, superstar from Pittsburg Penguins, expressed his sadness on the decision.
"It's not something where it's the next year, or you push it a couple of months. These are experiences of a lifetime that you don't get very many of as an athlete," he added.