PHOTOS BY Jeff Cable
The Wa i t i n g G a m e
With An Eye On Safety, NHL Strikes A Deal To Send
Players To The Olympics
By Harry Thompson
H
USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM NHL Preview
32
URRY UP AND WAIT has long been a fact of life in the military but it's typically not
part of an NHL player's daily routine.
That's about to change now that the NHL and its Players' Association have reached an
agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation that will let the best players
in the world compete for their countries at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
That is, as long their safety can be assured.
The agreement includes an escape clause that allows for the possibility to withdraw
from the tournament if a spike in COVID-19 conditions makes it impractical and unsafe
for NHL players to participate. The league can also pull out if the early stages of the
2021-22 NHL season are affected by game cancellations.
