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Olympics: NHL participation in the 2022 Olympics

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Just last Friday at the Board of Governors meeting, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman basically put it on the players for the Olympic opt-out, saying that while the league would rather not go it would honor the CBA agreement after the players pushed for Olympic participation in negations in June 2020. Except for one caveat, Bettman said, which just a few days later seems more pertinent now given the escalation of COVID cases around the league — the caveat being the NHL season playing out to its full 82 games per team being threatened by COVID.
“Let’s assume a number of teams came down with major outbreaks and in effect, we were missing lots and lots of games that had to be re-scheduled and it became clear that we couldn’t re-schedule without doing something else including using some portion of the (three-week) break,’’ said Bettman.
To which NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly added: “We have an agreement (with the NHLPA) that any material disruption to our season would certainly give us reason to withdraw.’’

LeBrun: NHL not considering pausing season yet but Olympic participation increasingly in jeopardy
 
Yeah, I think we’re at a below 10% chance they’re going at this point since the NHL has an opt out option.
 
It’s way to risky to be stuck in China for any length of time. China’s authoritarian regime can only be trusted if you acknowledge that they have bad intentions and zero rule of law.

Just going to China at all is a huge risk, going knowing they can make imprison you for any reason, like a false positive test, or even a positive test, no beuno.
 
If the NHL doesn't participate at this stage, and it's due to safety reasons (okay, money reasons under the guise of safety reasons), why should Hockey Canada, Team USA, etc be okay with sending college students and other young players to the tournament?
If you're Owen Power or Luke Hughes, do you jump on this opportunity or say, "wait, my future career is at stake too"?
And if you go down the list of 60 players and everyone before says no, it's not safe, is it even moral to ask the next person to go?
 
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Siludin said:
If the NHL doesn't participate at this stage, and it's due to safety reasons (okay, money reasons under the guise of safety reasons), why should Hockey Canada, Team USA, etc be okay with sending college students and other young players to the tournament?
If you're Owen Power or Luke Hughes, do you jump on this opportunity or say, "wait, my future career is at stake too"?
And if you go down the list of 60 players and everyone before says no, it's not safe, is it even moral to ask the next person to go?
Click to expand...
You raise a good point.. so the NHL and it's players opt out. Why would the extraliga, KHL, SEL etc. be any safer? Why would they want to go?

I'm proposing a online NHLEA tournament between the nations!
 
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Czechboy said:
You raise a good point.. so the NHL and it's players opt out. Why would the extraliga, KHL, SEL etc. be any safer? Why would they want to go?

I'm proposing a online NHLEA tournament between the nations!
Click to expand...
It's got nothing to do with safety.
 
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Well, since the NHL schedule is clear for February, and they don't go to China, they should have a Canada/World Cup right here in Canada!

Obviously it wont happen, but a boy can dream!
 
Absolute joke that the earliest we can see McDavid best on best is when he'll be 29. Likely will never see him play with Crosby now, unless Crosby is on the Olympic team as a 38 year old. Likely Ovi's last chance at it too - damn shame because I doubt he plays as a 40 year old.
 
Back In Black said:
Well, since the NHL schedule is clear for February, and they don't go to China, they should have a Canada/World Cup right here in Canada!

Obviously it wont happen, but a boy can dream!
Click to expand...
It definitely won't happen but I absolutely love the idea...

Ditch the ASG
Get them all to Vegas
Have your best on best tourney (no bullshit teams, just national teams mid season)

I'll even go one further. Make it for the Olympic gold medal.. Use the exact same format and everything. Lot easier to get players to Vegas (and out of Vegas).

It'll never happen but it's right there!
 
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According to the Czech Olympic Committee spokeswoman, the 3-5 week quarantine thing is an unwarranted media rumour which in fact appears in no single document the Chinese have sent to the participating sport organisations. So I don't know. So much contradictory information emerging, I think we should just sit back and wait how this all ends.
 
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Czechboy said:
It definitely won't happen but I absolutely love the idea...

Ditch the ASG
Get them all to Vegas
Have your best on best tourney (no bullshit teams, just national teams mid season)

I'll even go one further. Make it for the Olympic gold medal.. Use the exact same format and everything. Lot easier to get players to Vegas (and out of Vegas).

It'll never happen but it's right there!
Click to expand...

This is absurd, there's not even close to enough time. If something, they might consider such plan for the next season if NHL decides to not participate in China. Players and fans would get the tournament they want, just a year later, and there would be no risky trip to China under the COVID circumstances. But let's see if somebody relevant in world hockey even raises such idea.

I believe next year there will be no more quarantines at all, the countries would have to treat COVID as a normal mid-severe seasonal illness, as all the measurements and quarantines obviously cost way too much money and vaccines plus natural immunization are likely to prevent the societies from further severe damage. There will be many people infected, but 99,9 % of them in mild condition. I believe this winter is the last "COVID-driven" one, unluckily with the Olympics scheduled.
 
Back In Black said:
Well, since the NHL schedule is clear for February, and they don't go to China, they should have a Canada/World Cup right here in Canada!

Obviously it wont happen, but a boy can dream!
Click to expand...

Yeah but then many teams won't have all of the their best players, since KHL'ers and other European-based players will still go to the Olympics.
 
There are important things and then there are far more important things.

If you think participating a hockey-tournament is worth risking spending five weeks in a Chinese quarantine-cell instead of staying home with your family you really have strange priorities.

The wisest thing to do now would be to postpone the Olympics by a year but is that possible any more at such a short notice, I don't know.
 
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