LAUSANNE, April 4, 2017 - The NationalHockey League (NHL) officially announced on Monday that players would not becleared to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The newscomes as a huge blow to the Winter Games and its organizers after months ofstrained negotiation attempts, with the NHL claiming that "no meaningfuldialogue has materialized". This means that for the first time sinceLillehammer 1994, players from the world's most competitive ice hockey leaguewill not take part in the Games.
In a statement, the NHL said it wasunwilling to disrupt the 2017/2018 season in order encourage clubs to sendtheir players to the Games.
The International Ice Hockey Federation(IIHF) was thought to have come to a solution to the issue by agreeing to coverthe travel and insurance costs of players up to $20 million, after the IOCrefused to do so for the first time.
Tense negotiations also preceded the WinterOlympic Games in Sochi 2014, but a last minute deal was agreed on bystakeholders and organizers.
NHL players still have the option ofdefying the stance of the NHLNH, with Russia's Alexander Ovechkin alreadyhaving expressed that he will leave the camp of the Washington Capitals for theduration of the Games.
The IOC, whose president Thomas Bach is inAarhus for the opening of the 2017 SportAccord Convention, issued a statementexpressing its disappointment that no common ground had been found, andhighlighted the fact that the NHL would not be receiving 'special treatment'from the IOC.
The full IOC statement is below:
This must be a huge disappointment forthe players who definitely wanted to play at the Olympic Winter GamesPyeongChang 2018. The IOCfeels very sorry for the athletes.
The decision is even more regrettable, as the International Ice HockeyFederation (IIHF) had offered the same conditions to the NHL as at previousOlympic Games, where the insurance and travel costs were covered.
The IOC, which distributes 90 per cent of its revenue for the development ofsport in the world, obviously cannot treat a national commercial league betterthan not-for-profit International Sports Federations which are developing sportglobally.
The ice hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 willnonetheless be a very exciting one, because the players from all the otherprofessional ice hockey leagues and their athletes will participate, and willbe very much welcomed by their Olympic teams.
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