Game on at Beijing Olympics, NHL says

Though the COVID-19 storm clouds hanging over the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing haven't yet lifted, the National Hockey League has decided to forge ahead with its trip.

The league and the NHL Players' Association announced on Friday they're green lighting participation in the Games and the three-week February break already built into the 202122 schedule will be utilized for that purpose. But there's a big caveat; the worldwide pandemic can't be making a late-stage comeback when the puck is dropped. To that end, the statement issued Friday in conjunction with the International Ice Hockey Federation said “the agreement allows for the possibility of a later decision to withdraw in the event evolving COVID conditions are deemed by the NHL/NHLPA to render participation ... to be impractical or unsafe.”

That will start in North America, where any significant surge in cases during league play up to the February break could see the voyage overseas cancelled. The previously contentious issue of which body would pay for COVID -19 insurance while the Nhlers were in China was not resolved as a majority of players were in favour of going without it.

For various NON-COVID reasons, the NHL didn't participate in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. But hockey is a huge ratings draw and fans have now gone five years without seeing young stars such as Canada's Connor Mcdavid and American Auston Matthews in a major world tournament.

A few weeks ago, Hockey Canada cautiously rolled out its Olympic coaching staff, Jon Cooper and assistants Barry Trotz, Peter Deboer and Bruce Cassidy, with plans to accelerate the selection of a roster.

Other concerns remain before the Games get underway, such as ongoing public protests around the world regarding China's human rights record and the confinement of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor over the past 2½ years.

But for now, it's game on. “We understand how passionately NHL players feel about representing and competing for their countries,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a release. “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.”