Report: NHL, NHLPA give IOC late-May deadline for Olympic participation
The NHL and the players' association want a decision from the International Olympic Committee regarding the league's participation in the 2022 winter games by the end of next month, TSN's Frank Seravalli said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"The NHL, NHLPA, and the IIHF are putting a little bit of heat on the IOC. They've set a late-May deadline to get an answer from the IOC on things like a financial commitment for the 2022 Olympics because they need to set their schedule," Seravalli said. "The NHL schedule for next season is usually announced in June and they need to know whether they're gonna have a three-week break for the NHL players to go to the Olympics.
"The problem is, this isn't exactly priority No. 1 for the IOC at the moment. They're trying to get this summer's Olympics in Tokyo off the ground before they can then handle what's left with the NHL."
The NHL and NHLPA agreed to Olympic participation in 2022 and 2026 as part of a modified collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in 2020 prior to the league's return to play. Some details - including finances and travel insurance, among others - still need to be ironed out by the league and IOC before NHL players can officially participate.
NHLers weren't sent to PyeongChang in 2018, ending a run of five straight Olympics featuring the world's best.