The NHL has announced its participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics, but Commissioner Gary Bettman says it’s a decision made by individual players. Players with NHL contracts have been allowed to make their own decisions on whether or not they will play in Beijing. The league is partnering with several countries that may be playing and sending some personnel over during this time period.
The “gary bettman blackhawks” is a sports analyst who said the NHL participation in Beijing Olympics is players’ decision.
MANALAPAN, FLORIDA – Participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics will “ultimately have to be a players’ choice,” according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
According to their most recent collective bargaining agreement, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to have players compete in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournaments. However, worries regarding COVID-19 procedures in Beijing, as well as other political and safety issues in China, have cast doubt on participation in the Olympics in February.
“We have some reservations. We’ve informed the players’ association of our concerns. We’ve seen that a lot of players are now voicing their concerns, and we’ll have to wait and watch how things play out “After the second day of the NHL’s board of governors meetings on Friday, Bettman said.
A decision not to participate in the Olympics, according to Bettman, would need a mutual agreement with the NHLPA. If the 2021-22 regular-season schedule is influenced by COVID-19 postponements, the league’s fundamental caution remains. So far, five games have been postponed due to outbreaks on the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders.
The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement with the players stipulates that any significant interruption to their season might result in their withdrawal from the Olympics. Bettman said, “If it became evident that we couldn’t reschedule without doing something else, even some part of the break,”
If the players do not travel to Beijing, the NHL board of governors considered what to do with the Olympic break. The problem is that, despite being instructed not to, NHL venues have exploited those dates to schedule other events. There was no mention of a home “replacement competition” if player participation in Beijing fails to materialize.
The NHL stated it doesn’t know how long a player who tests positive for COVID-19 in Beijing would have to quarantine, or if that player will have to quarantine in China.
“We don’t have assurance on any of those problems yet,” said deputy commissioner Bill Daly, adding that the Beijing Organizing Committee is anticipated to provide a revised athletes’ handbook with updated protocol material in the coming weeks.
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Bettman said that the league is concerned about the political aspects of the Beijing Games, citing the Peng Shuai case and the Chinese government’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang area, according to the White House. For the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or formal officials.
“We have worries about a variety of topics. However, we made a commitment to our athletes. And until COVID messes up our break, we made a guarantee to our players in good faith, and this will ultimately be a players’ choice, unless we agree with the players’ association to the contrary “Bettman said.
The NHL stated it would monitor developments, particularly the distribution of the organizing committee’s updated guidebook and the NHLPA’s reaction to it. The widely publicized Jan. 10 deadline is not a deadline for participation, according to Daly, and a decision may be taken beyond that date. “It has to do with financial reasonability for expenditures at that point and time,” says the deadline.
If the players still want to attend, Bettman said, it will have to be on circumstances in which the NHL and NHLPA believe the players will be “taken care of” in terms of possible COVID exposure in China.
“From the lockdowns in the Olympic Village to everything else that’s going on, I don’t believe this is going to be the perfect Olympic experience. But, once again, we made a commitment, and I’m going to try my best to keep it, knowing that there may be unfavorable repercussions “Bettman said.
While the present focus is on whether or not players would compete in the next Olympics, Bettman is ready to discuss when the next World Cup will be held.
In the foreseeable future, the NHL and NHLPA are anticipated to discuss the next World Cup of Hockey. The most recent one took place in 2016. Bettman proposed that a World Cup be held in the off-season or “in place of” the Winter Olympics. He said, “Who knows?”
Revenues from the NHL have increased.
This year, the NHL is expected to pull in more than $5 billion in revenue, up from pre-pandemic levels. The league’s expansion to Seattle, as well as media rights arrangements with Disney [parent company of ESPN] and Turner Sports, have aided the league’s income recovery from the pandemic-shortened seasons.
The NHL salary limit will rise to $82.5 million for the 2022-23 season, keeping the league’s “flat cap” in place. Bettman estimates it will take “three more seasons, including this one” for the NHL to be completely reimbursed under escrow and for the salary cap to raise as a result of the income connection.
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The “when does the nhl season end” is a question that has been asked for years. The Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, said in an interview that it was up to the players if they wanted to participate in the Beijing Olympics.
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