(ATR) National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman dashes any remaining hope that the league will pause its season to allow players to participate at the PyeongChang 2018 Games.
Bettman denies apparent suggestions from the International Ice Hockey Federation and NHL Players’ Association that it was still an "open issue."
"It is not and has not been," said Bettman. "I hope that was definitive enough."
"We are dead set against disrupting our seasons," Bettman added.
The veteran commissioner’s latest comments came prior to Game One of the NHL’s Stanley Cup final in Pittsburgh at his annual state of the league address.
Bettman, who was responsible for bringing the elite North American league’s players to the Winter Olympics for the first time in Nagano ’98, reaching an historic agreement with former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, said "the NHL is not anti-Olympics, but it is anti-disruption to the season."
IIHF president Fasel has remained optimistic even though Bettman has remained steadfast on the league’s stance to forego the PyeongChang Games.
Fasel believes the NHL needs to be in Pyeongchang, South Korea, to grow their brand internationally.
The hockey boss and IOC member told Around the Rings in Februarythat if the National Hockey League does not skate in PyeongChang 2018 it will be a "big mistake" and people will be "disappointed".
"Now the puck is on the stick of the NHLPA and the NHL," Fasel told ATR at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo. "We’ve done our homework – we could negotiate with the Korean organizers about tickets, accommodations and transportation. We could find the money to pay all that."
The IOC have stood firm about not paying out of pocket transportation and insurance costs for the elite league players to come to Korea, something that has been provided at every Olympics that the NHL has participated in since Nagano 1998. Fasel has worked diligently to find a means to cover the expenses, although details were not revealed.
While Bettman and league owners want to skip the South Korea Olympics, the league commissioner is seemingly taking a different stance regarding participation in Beijing 2022. Fasel has countered that it’s all or nothing for the North American league and that it can’t "pick and choose" Olympics.
During a recent trip to China, Bettman said Chinese officials hadn’t asked whether the league would attend the 2022 Olympics. They were more concerned, he suggested, with developing winter sports.
Bettman also warns that the NHL has "an expectation" no players under contract will go to the 2018 Olympics. He offered no specifics on rules though.
Russian and Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin has remained adamant that he will play for his country in lieu of whatever decision is made by Bettman and the NHL owners.
It remains to be seen if other NHL players will follow Ovechkin’s threat.
The unpopular NHL decision would force national hockey federations to utilize players from European leagues and the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. United States and Canadian teams could draw players from junior hockey leagues and American universities.
While the NHL has participated at every Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998, it appears more likely than ever that the five Olympics run will now come to an end next February in PyeongChang.
Written by Brian Pinelli
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