The National Hockey League’s decision not to take part in the Winter Olympics next year is regrettable and will come as a big blow to the world’s best ice hockey players, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday.
The NHL on Monday announced that it had decided not to send its players to the Games, saying talks to find a solution to the problem of stopping the league in mid-season to accommodate the Olympics in the past had not been successful.
“This must be a huge disappointment for the players who definitely wanted to play at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018,” the IOC said in a statement. “The IOC feels very sorry for the athletes.”
“The decision is even more regrettable, as the International Ice Hockey Federation [IIHF] had offered the same conditions to the NHL as at previous Olympic Games, where the insurance and travel costs were covered,” the IOC said.
The Pyeongchang Winter Games are to take place in South Korea from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25 next year.
The IOC said the ice hockey would go ahead with players from the other leagues, as it could not make an exception for the NHL, treating it differently than international federations.
“The IOC, which distributes 90 percent of its revenue for the development of sport in the world, obviously cannot treat a national commercial league better than not-for-profit international sports federations which are developing sport globally,” the IOC said.
“The ice hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 will nonetheless be a very exciting one, because the players from all the other professional ice hockey leagues and their athletes will participate, and will be very much welcomed by their Olympic teams,” it said.
Unhappy about having to shut down for almost three weeks in the middle of the regular season, the NHL had been seeking major concessions from the IOC, including recognition comparable to that of an Olympic top sponsor, for taking part.
The IOC and the IIHF had agreed to ensure payment of transportation and insurance for the players after having initially refused to do so, in an effort to reach an agreement.
The NHL has participated in every Winter Olympics since 1998, but similar disputes preceded past Games with a deal usually reached shortly before the event.
This decision will affect almost every major ice hockey-playing nation, with the Sweden, Finland, Russia, US and Canada teams almost entirely made up of NHL players.
However, some players have already said they would play in Pyeongchang no matter what.
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