Report: IOC, IIHF presidents to attend Olympic meeting with NHL
A quartet of hockey organizations will reportedly be represented at Friday's meeting regarding the NHL's potential involvement with the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.
The NHL, NHLPA, IIHF, and IOC will all be accounted for at the discussion in New York City, and IOC president Thomas Bach and IIHF president Rene Fasel will be among the participants, TSN's Bob McKenzie confirmed following a report by Sportsnet's John Shannon.
As for the purpose of the meeting, a source told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun that while no resolution to the ongoing negotiation is expected Friday, there will be "frank discussion of where things stand."
The issue of expenses has been a sticking point since the IOC implied it would stop paying for the players' travel costs and for contract insurance, but Fasel said last weekend that the IIHF has figured out a way to cover those.
"Yes, we worked really hard and I would like to thank all our member federations," Fasel told LeBrun.
If an agreement can't be worked out, McKenzie says there is a potential backup plan in the works.
In meantime, IIHF has been working on non-NHL 2018 Plan B where countries/federations would only be able to use non-NHL talent.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 2, 2017
Olympic participation was barely discussed when the NHL's board of governors met during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.
A decision was originally expected come some time in January, although no hard deadline has been announced.