USA Hockey 'hopeful' NHL players will participate in 2022 Olympics

USA Hockey is proceeding as if NHL players will participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics amid uncertainty about COVID-19 protocols.

"We certainly are hopeful that all systems will be go by the time we get ready to go to Beijing, but there's certainly still work to be done," USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said Tuesday after Bill Guerin was named general manager and Chris Drury assistant GM for the United States.
"There are a lot of moving parts. There are things that still have to be discussed and hopefully answered so that everybody can feel the best about sending the best players to the Olympics from the NHL."
Kelleher said USA Hockey received an updated playbook from the Beijing Organizing Committee on Monday and is working with the NHL, the NHL Players' Association and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
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"We continue to grind through it," he said. "It's quite a heavy document, as you can imagine."
Asked for the quarantine rules if a player tests positive for COVID-19 in Beijing, Kelleher said USA Hockey is "still working to get finalization on that from the USOPC."
The Toronto Star reported Saturday players could be required to quarantine up to five weeks if they test positive, prompting concern from Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares, who could play for Canada.
"It is concerning when you hear about the 3-to-5-week quarantine, having to stay back and stay in China," Bergeron said Tuesday. "I think there's a lot of questions right now that need to be answered, and that's how I feel about it. Obviously as an athlete I think you're torn because you want to be there and, as I said, the biggest sports event in the world. That being said, it's a different situation and different year, and you want to make sure you have all the answers before I can really answer that question."
Pietrangelo said Sunday, "I've got four kids that are under the age of 3 1/2, so for me to be potentially locked up there for five weeks plus the Olympics, it's a long time being away from my family."
Tavares questioned what would happen after the quarantine period.
"It's extremely challenging to wrap your head around that, and then getting home," Tavares said. "How are we getting home?"
McDavid, who has yet to play in the Olympics, said it was a fluid situation.
"We need to continue to gather all the information that there is," he said. "There hasn't been a ton of information coming out and all of a sudden there's that 3-to-5-week thing that's been kind of floating around. We're just trying to gather all the facts and information and obviously it's unsettling if that were to be the case when you go over there. So obviously I'm still a guy that's wanting to go play in the Olympics but we also want to make sure it's safe for everybody, and for all the athletes, not just for hockey players."
Guerin, the GM of the Minnesota Wild, was asked Tuesday if he anticipates a significant number of NHL players not wanting to go.
"Well, I mean, there's always the possibility of that," Guerin said. "I think part of our responsibility is to make sure that they feel comfortable going, to get all the information that we can and pass it along to them. The last thing we want to do is put anybody in harm's way, so I think to give the players a comfort level that they're going to be taken care of and looked after is very important."
Drury, GM of the New York Rangers, said: "Obviously it's an evolving situation, but I would think to date there hasn't been much talk of that. But things change, and we'll see where things are when we've got to pick the team."
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday the League would keep the promise it made to the NHLPA in collective bargaining last year to send the players to the Olympics (with the caveat that COVID-19 does not materially disrupt the NHL schedule), and so "ultimately this is going to have to be a players decision."
The NHL has postponed nine games this season because of COVID-19 concerns, including the game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and three Calgary Flames games this week.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Friday there is no deadline to withdraw from the Olympics, though there would be financial costs if it happened after Jan. 10. The NHL is scheduled to break from Feb. 3-22 for the 2022 Honda All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas and the Olympics.
USA Hockey assistant executive director John Vanbiesbrouck said Plan B would be using players from the American Hockey League, European leagues, the NCAA, and the player pool for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, when NHL players did not participate, but the United States is working on Plan A.
"It is completely fluid, but we've been putting our full focus on our NHL players going and working directly with Bill and Chris and the group on our selection process there," Vanbiesbrouck said.
Kelleher pointed out that the COVID-19 protocols affect all athletes.
"We're all talking about hockey, but when you look at overall the Olympics, these are factors that are important for skiers and lugers and bobsledders and everybody else under the same guidelines and protocols," he said. "We're just trying to communicate with everybody as best we can, knowing that there still is a lot of uncertainty, but we do feel like the protocols will be there.
"We know there are some issues that we're trying to get final answers on, but obviously the longer we wait on some of these things, we hope the answers can be better for the cause to go and better to provide the best, safest solution that everybody can feel good about to get to Beijing and play hockey."
NHL.com staff writers Amalie Benjamin and Tim Campbell contributed to this report