Story first produced by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is currently keeping all of his options open when it comes to his players participating in the 2018 Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“He's going to sit and wait for the best deal,” according to a league insider.
Bettman is waiting to see what route that representatives of the NHLPA, the International Ice Hockey Federation, and the International Olympic Committee will be taking.
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr indicated that despite being optimistic about the players participating, the league may not be getting the extension of the collective bargaining agreement it wants in exchange for that happening.
A decision is looming, as a deadline has supposedly been set for mid January. Whether or not that's actually true remains to be seen.
“Lots of people think that mid-January may be an artificial date,” the league insider reported.
NHL players have participated in the Olympics beginning in 1998; the deal was reached between the NHLPA, IOC, NHL, and IIHF in 1995. The Czech Republic (1998), Canada, (2002, 2010, 2014), and Sweden (2006) have all won the gold medal since then. Their respective squads were all led by leading NHL stars.
