NHL players are set to return to the Olympics in Beijing this winter after reaching an agreement with international officials.
The league, its players’ union, the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation struck a deal Friday that will put the best players in the world back on sports’ biggest stage in February after they skipped the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Even after the NHL and players agreed to Olympic participation as part of a long-term extension of the collective bargaining agreement last summer, the coronavirus pandemic and related costs threatened to shelve that possibility. Instead, the sides were able to figure it out, allowing for the league or players to withdraw if virus circumstances change for the worse or there’s an outbreak during the season.