Daly said the two most important factors the NHL and NHLPA must consider when deciding to attend the Olympics are the logistics of travel to and from the host city and player insurance. He also said access for NHL media platforms is a consideration.
Sochi is nine times zones ahead of New York and 12 ahead of Los Angeles. Pyeongchang is five hours ahead of Sochi.
"It was a big challenge coming to Sochi, and it certainly would be a big challenge if we were to go to South Korea," Daly said. "Player insurance is always a factor with the magnitude and length of player contracts these days, an incredible number of assets at risk."
There is a general consensus that hockey at the Olympics is a bigger deal with NHL players. Commissioner Bettman said that in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, somewhere between 60-70 percent of the ticket sales, other than the opening and closing ceremonies, were for hockey.
However, Daly said that historically NHL ticket sales and television ratings have not gone up after the Olympics. The NHL also does not receive any revenues from the Olympics, and players are not paid to be here, but the IIHF reimburses the NHL for costs incurred for player participation, including travel.
"As a practical business matter, for the clubs individually, the Olympics have no tangible positive effect," Daly said. "Certainly for the visibility of ice hockey, which is kind of good, big-picture, for the National Hockey League, it's good. Given all the pros and cons, we made a determination that on balance it was more positive to be here than negative, and that's why we're in Sochi."
All indications are that it shouldn't be long before a decision is made on Pyeongchang.
"I think it's a decision we should be able to make relatively soon," Daly said, "and it's a decision, in fairness to the hockey world, that should be made relatively soon, because people have to make plans for 2018."
