(AUDACY) For the sixth time in the history of the Winter Olympics,NHL players will be granted participation in the Olympic Games.
The NHL and the NHL Players' Association on Friday came to an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to allow players in the NHL to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
"We understand how passionately NHL players feel about representing and competing for their countries," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. "We are very pleased that we were able to conclude arrangements that will allow them to resume best-on-best competition on the Olympic stage."
This will be the first time NHL players participate in the Olympics since 2014, when the Games were held in Sochi, Russia. Canada earned the nation's second straight gold medal in that event, while Sweden ended up coming in second with the silver medal and Finland defeated the United States for the bronze medal.
NHL players weren't granted permission to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea that saw the Olympic Athletes from Russia claim the gold, Germany win silver and Canada settle for the bronze medal.
Each participating team in the 2022 Olympic Games will announce their rosters by January, with the players traveling to Beijing via private business class charters on Feb. 6, 2022, according to a memo sent to all NHL players on Friday by NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the Olympics will start Feb. 9 with preliminary round action and will conclude with the medal round games on Feb. 20.
While the players were adamant about participating in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the NHL does have the right to withdraw player participation any time before they leave for Beijing. That will also apply in the event of regular-season games needing to be cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19-related reasons, if they can't be rescheduled within the current regular-season schedule.
For players interested in participating for their home countries this February, they must be fully vaccinated in order to play in the Olympic Games. However, if any players wish to opt out of the Winter Games, they can decline their participation at any time without consequence.
While the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are still establishing protocols for the 2022 Winter Olympics, indications are that once the players arrive at the Games, they will be subject to being in a tight bubble with significant restrictions that will be enforced. The players will likely be restricted as to who they interact with, where they are able to go within the bubble as well as daily COVID-19 testing, mask wearing, social distancing and more.
One big issue in the past for NHL participation in the Olympics has been contract insurance for players who may suffer an injury at the tournament. However, according to the players' memo, all participating players in the tournament will have their contracts insured with the IIHF and/or federations covering the cost in the event of an injury.
In the event that a player contracts COVID-19 while participating in the Olympic Games, the IOC and IIHF have made it clear that no player will be covered by any COVID-19 insurance. The IIHF, though, has agreed to create a $5-million fund to help cover lost NHL salaries due to COVID-19, provided that any player that tested positive strictly followed all COVID-19 protocols in place.
It's unlikely that any players, at this point, will be granted permission to bring any guests with them to the Olympic Games.
The 2022 Olympic Games will be played on regulation NHL-sized rinks, with NHL officials also working the games.
Here's how the groups will look for the 2022 Winter Olympics for the men's ice hockey portion of the tournament:
Group A:
-- Canada
-- United States
-- Germany
-- China
Group B:
-- Russian Olympic Committee
-- Czech Republic
-- Switzerland
-- Denmark
Group C:
-- Finland
-- Sweden
-- Slovakia
-- Latvia