The NHL has pulled out of the Beijing Olympics in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases and game postponements.
League players participated in five Olympics from 1998 to 2014 but didn't go to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. The NHL had promised a return for the 2022 Winter Games as part of its collective bargaining agreement, but the number of postponements forced the league to abandon the two-week Olympic break in order to reschedule games.
The next opportunity for NHL players to suit up for their countries' Olympic teams will be in 2026 for the Milano-Cortina Games in Italy.