Agreement reached to send NHL players to 2022 Winter Olympics

The NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF have reached an agreement to send National Hockey League players to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The agreement includes a clause that allows the NHL to withdraw participation from the games at a later date “in the event evolving Covid conditions are deemed by the NHL/NHLPA to render participation by NHL Players to be impractical or unsafe,” the league said in a statement.

“We understand how passionately NHL players feel about representing and competing for their countries,” said Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner. “We are very pleased that we were able to conclude arrangements that will allow them to resume best on best competition on the Olympic stage.”

It marks the first time since the 2014 games in Sochi that the NHL sent their players as the parties were unable to reach an agreement for the 2018 games in Pyongchang.

A total of twelve countries will play at the games in Beijing from Feb. 4-20: Canada, the United States, the Russian Olympic Committee, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, Latvia, and the host country China.

The groupings for the games break down as follows:

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.