Lots of Obstacles Cleared for the NHL to Send Its Players Back to the Olympics
Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston of TSN break down how the IIHF, IOC, NHL, and NHLPA resolved their issues to allow the NHL to agree to send its players back to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030.
** NHLRumors.com Transcription
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Mark Masters: “NHL Players finally going back to the Olympics. C.J. How did this come together?”
Chris Johnston: “Reminds me of my school days because, after two years of talks, they had to go into four in the morning, early Friday, to get this deal finally hammered out. And obviously, there’s a lot of people at that table. You’re talking with the International Olympic Committee, the IIHF, the NHL, the NHL Players Association. There’s a lot of boxes to tick. And ultimately, there is a shared interest in getting this done. And I think, having that the All-Star game here, that they viewed it as a good opportunity to officially announce this.
Obviously, a lot of the players that are participating in this event have been thirsting to get back to the Olympics to represent their countries on that kind of stage. And so they had to work through a lot of those details that burned the midnight oil, but finally got the deal done.”
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Pierre LeBrun: “And as you guys know, there were key issues, especially players’ insurance on their contracts and travel for players, that had to be overcome. Those are issues in the past that have been really troublesome within these parties, and what all three parties acknowledged on this day was that the IOC and the IIHF are finding a way to pay for all that.
Gary Bettman was almost beaming as if communicating directly to his owners that it’s not going to cost NHL owners a penny, and that’s not insignificant when you consider how much owners are not really in favor, most of them for the Olympic Break. The other thorny issue that remains, and there’s no clear answer, is what about Russia? Banned from international play right now. Will they be reinstated for the 26 Olympics? Luc Tardif, IIHF President, does not have an answer yet. But he says the IIHF Council will be dealing with that in the coming months.”