NHL participation in 2022 Olympics primarily up to players, Bettman says
League plans to adhere to agreement, awaits COVID-19 protocols from Beijing Organizing Committee
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"In good faith, we made a promise to the players, and ultimately this is going to have to be a players decision," Commissioner Bettman said after the NHL Board of Governors meeting at the Eau Palm Beach.
The caveat is the NHL can withdraw on its own if COVID-19 disruptions force games to be rescheduled during the Olympic window. The NHL is scheduled to break from Feb. 3-22 for 2022 Honda All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas and the 2022 Olympics.
There is no deadline for withdrawal from the Olympics, though there would be financial costs after Jan. 10, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. The NHL is waiting for a handbook of protocols from the Beijing Organizing Committee.
"We'll see what that has to say, what the Players' Association's response to that is," Daly said.
NHL players participated in five Olympics from 1998-2014 but not in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. The NHL position has been that Olympic participation disrupts the NHL season, particularly when not held in North America.
Commissioner Bettman said NHL concerns about the Olympics have "only been magnified" by COVID-19.
But the players highly value the Olympics, and when the NHL and the NHL Players' Association extended the collective bargaining agreement last year through the 2025-26 season, they agreed to go to the 2022 Beijing Olympics and 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics if they could reach an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Commissioner Bettman said Daly made a detailed presentation to the Board of Governors on the Olympics.
Daly said the NHL and the NHLPA have no certainty on what would happen if a player tests positive for COVID-19 in China. Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner said he declined an invitation to play for Sweden for mental health reasons in anticipation of strict protocols.
"We have concerns, and we've expressed those to the Players' Association, and we've seen that a number of players are now expressing concerns," Commissioner Bettman said. "We'll have to see how this ultimately plays out, but there are a number of open issues, and I know the Players' Association has concerns about them. But ultimately, we will honor [the agreement], as we promised the players we would subject to the scheduling caveat, to move forward and let them play if that's really want they want to do. …
"The players for the most part seem to continue to be saying they want to go. I don't think that this is going to be the ideal Olympic experience in terms of the lockdowns in the Olympic Village and everything else that's going on. But again, we made a promise to the players, and [we're] going to the best of our ability adhere to it, understanding that there may be … consequences nobody's going to like."
Commissioner Bettman and Daly said the NHL has done a significant amount of work to deal with health and safety concerns in China.
"Obviously we're not washing our hands of responsibility for taking care of our athletes when they're there," Daly said, "so that's an important priority for us and we share that with the Players' Association."
Commissioner Bettman said, "Of course, we're worried about and will be extraordinarily proactive in making sure the players are taken care of and are safe. It's the decision where we're being deferential because we made a commitment, but if the players decide to go, it's going to have to be on terms where we and the Players' Association are comfortable that the players can be well taken care of."
Daly said he isn't sure there will be enhanced protocols for All-Star Weekend ahead of the Olympics, but he thinks there will be recommendations for how the players should conduct themselves in Las Vegas and believes the players will stay in a hotel the NHLPA feels is a more remote, safer environment.
"They're going to have family members with them, I would imagine," Daly said. "There's only so much we can do. It's not like they're going to go to Vegas and be on lockdown."
Commissioner Bettman said, "And it's not like we're not playing games and we're not traveling to begin with. This is part of our season, and it's an important element."
Asked for a scenario in which the NHL would withdraw from the 2022 Olympics on its own, Commissioner Bettman said, "Let's assume a number of teams came down with major outbreaks and in effect we were missing lots and lots of games that had to be rescheduled, and it became clear that we couldn't reschedule without doing something else including using some portion of the break."
Daly said the Board of Governors discussed whether games could be rescheduled during the Olympic window if the NHL does not participate in Beijing, but arenas have been aggressive booking other events on those dates.
"Certainly we've looked at what the possibilities are," Daly said.
