NHL bows out of the Olympics amid rising COVID-19

As expected, the NHL pulled the plug on participating in the Winter Olympics in February in Beijing, citing the need to reschedule league games postponed this month due to a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases sparked by the omicron variant in North America. The league and its players association made the announcement jointly Wednesday morning.

Instead of sending the best players in the world to the 2022 Games, top hockey nations are expected to send teams made up of players from the AHL, ECHL, the NCAA and from European leagues. Men’s hockey is one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics but far from the only one.

“Our focus and goal have been and must remain to responsibly and safely complete the entirety of the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs in a timely manner,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Therefore, with stringent health protocols once again in place, we will begin utilizing available dates during the Feb. 6-22 window (originally contemplated to accommodate Olympic participation) to reschedule games that have been, or may yet be, postponed.”

The league has postponed 50 games and expanded its annual Christmas break in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. Three Ducks games and two Kings games were postponed this week after the league banned crossborder travel Sunday and then expanded the holiday break Monday.

Ducks road games against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks must be made up, as well as a Kings’ home game against the Oilers and a road game against the Vegas Golden Knights. No makeup dates have been announced for any of the postponed games, however.

Kings fans with tickets to the game against the Oilers will be contacted by the team or their pointof-sale location regarding postponement policies, including further information once the game is rescheduled.

No decision has been made on additional NHL postponements, although that could be the next domino to fall. More than 15 percent of the league’s 700-plus players were placed in the COVID-19 protocol, unable to practice or play after positive tests, most within the past two weeks.

The next Winter Olympics will be in Milan and Cortina d’ampezzo, Italy.