2022 Winter Olympics: Will NHL players be playing?

The 2022 Winter Olympics will feature hockey but will NHL players be making the trip to Beijing to represent their countries?

The 2022 Winter Olympics were supposed to bring NHL players into the fold again.

Then COVID-19 happened.

The emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 has people holding their breath over the Olympics set to start in Beijing. However, it has already nixed one major aspect of the event.

2022 Winter Olympics: Will NHL players be playing?

NHL players will not participate in the Winter Olympics.

The league announced in December that they will not allow the players to head to Beijing because of the disruption COVID has already and could cause.

“The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL players to represent their countries and participate in a ‘best on best’ tournament,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Accordingly, we have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the NHL’s regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events — 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23 — Olympic participation is no longer feasible.

“We certainly acknowledge and appreciate the efforts made by the International Olympic Committee, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Beijing Organizing Committee to host NHL players but current circumstances have made it impossible for us to proceed despite everyone’s best efforts. We look forward to Olympic participation in 2026.”

The NHL has already had to cancel games this season. The risk of sending players across the globe to the Olympics is just too high.