Players were asked to react on Tuesday, and they expressed disappointment with the hope that an agreement can be reached in the future.
"For someone who's represented USA Hockey before and takes pride in it, I don't want to speak for other guys but I'm sure they feel pretty similar, it's a bit disappointing," Eichel said. "The Olympics is a great event. It's something the whole world looks forward to, us included, so in terms of trying to grow our game I think it could have been a good opportunity for us and it usually is. I think it's a good way to bring our country together. It's just tough, you grow up watching it and you get to the point of playing professionally and it kind of goes away. So, a little bit sad."
Eichel has represented USA Hockey since a young age, having joined the National Team Developmental Program beginning in the 2012-13 season and represented Team USA at multiple World Junior Championships as well as the World Championship in 2015.
On Tuesday, he thought back even further, to his experience representing the country at the Winter Youth Olympics in Austria back in 2012.
"I was a freshman in high school and wasn't really sure what I was getting in to and [it was] pretty special two weeks for me," he said. "Our team didn't do well but just being able to be there, you're living in an Olympic Village, you're with all the other athletes at the opening ceremony
" … To think about how special that event was and how good it was, just to imagine what the Olympics are like, it's probably that multiplied by 100. Obviously it's something that as a hockey player and professionally, you just deal with and move on."
Lehner, who was chosen for Team Sweden at the World Cup of Hockey this past summer but chose to stay with the Sabres as he worked his way back from an injury, expressed his disappointment in not being able to bring the game to a world stage.
"I know when the Olympics are on, I watch a lot of sports that I had never seen before that I think are pretty cool," he said. "I think it's the same way for hockey. People that haven't really followed hockey maybe get to tune in and become fans of a new sport. I think that's unfortunate."
Bylsma, who coached Team USA at the last Winter Olympics in 2014, offered perspective form both sides of the equation.