Expect the NHL & NHLPA to announce that they’ll be pulling out of the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the coming weeks. With games being delayed on an almost daily basis, the league is quickly approaching the point of no return when it comes to scheduling their full complement of games in 2021-22.
On Sunday the league announced that they would be suspending any cross border games through December 23rd in an effort to slow down outbreaks affecting a number of franchises.
Following that proclamation, both the NHL and NHLPA announced that they would be reviewing participation in the Winter Games in the upcoming days in a joint statement: “Given the disruption to the NHL’s regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events… and the continued uncertainty caused by the ongoing COVID pandemic, the NHL and NHLPA are actively discussing the matter of NHL player participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, and expect to be in a position to announce a final determination in the coming days”
If the NHL were to have its way, they would have already pulled out of the Olympic games. However, as Gary Bettman pointed out in a recent media availability “As part of the extension of the collective bargaining agreement, 20 or so months ago, we made a promise to give the players, if they so desired and the appropriate arrangements could be made, to have the players participate in the Olympics”.
But at the end of the day, the NHL is a business, and their ability to carry out their schedule will ultimately trump any good faith promises they may have made in the past. Michael Farber recently pointed out that Canada has pulled out of the upcoming Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland:
While some may see it as an unrelated move, others will point towards this now laying the groundwork for Canada’s best non-NHL players to be available for the upcoming Olympics. Because if there’s one thing you can bank on, it’s that the Beijing Olympics WILL proceed as scheduled, with or without NHL players competing in it. It also wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Claude Julien, who was slated to coach the Spengler Cup team, as the bench boss for the make-shift Canadian squad at the upcoming Olympics should the NHL & NHLPA pull out.
The Olympics are currently scheduled to kickoff on February 3rd, 2022. However the NHL must either commit or opt out of the Winter Games by January 10th or face sanctions from the IOC and IIHF from a prior agreement. Technically the league could still choose to opt out of the Olympics after the January 10th deadline however there would be steep financial penalties for doing so (though exact figures have yet to be released).
Most concerning for players however are the unclear quarantine expectations surrounding participation in the Olympic Games. With conflicting reports on what the procedure would be should an athlete contract COVID while in Beijing, many NHL players, including Connor McDavid, have questions surrounding international travel in the new year. Needless to say, a potential quarantine of 14-21 days in a foreign country have given players pause on their desire to don their country’s colours on the world stage.
This, coupled with Bettman’s stance against Olympic participation in the first place (he along with many owners feel that the scheduling disruptions, unfavourable licensing agreements and risk of injury aren’t worth the risk) hockey fans shouldn’t be surprised to hear that the league and players association have pulled out of the Olympics in the upcoming weeks.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner