It's official: NHL players won't go to Olympics because of COVID concerns

Faced with concerns about COVID-19 and the prospect of long quarantine periods should players test positive during the Olympics, the NHL decided to pull out of the Beijing Games.

The league and its players association reached the agreement Tuesday. The official announcement came Wednesday morning.

"Given the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events ... Olympic participation is no longer feasible," commissioner Gary Bettman said.

In a separate statement, Players' Association executive director Don Fehr said that while there was a clear path to Beijing before COVID-19 intervened, the Olympic break is now needed to make up games.

Participation in the 2022 Beijing Games, set for Feb. 4-20. and the 2026 Olympics in Italy was negotiated into the collective bargaining agreement after NHL players didn't go to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. There was language in that CBA that provided for a bailout if there was a "material disruption to the season" because of COVID-19.

Chinese officials said Olympians testing positive in Beijing could face quarantines of up to five weeks at government facilities.

The United States used American pros playing in Europe and college players for the 2018 Games, which were won by the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR). Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov, playing at the time in the Kontinental Hockey League, scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Germany.

Wild General Manager Bill Guerin was set to be GM of the U.S. team if NHL players participated. Instead, the U.S. will use a fallback plan and field a team similar to 2018, where future Wild forwards Ryan Donato and Jordan Greenway were among the best players. USA Hockey executive John Vanbiesbrouck, not Guerin, would likely lead the selection process for that team. Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is set to coach Team USA, but that also might change.

Kaprizov would have been on the OAR team again. Three other Wild players — Kevin Fiala (Switzerland), Jonas Brodin (Sweden) and Joel Eriksson Ek (Sweden) — are among their countries' top players as well. Nico Sturm was a strong candidate for the German team, although he sounded an early alarm last week about the Games.

"Just with how things are going, I just don't see how," Sturm said Thursday. "I would obviously love to go, but I've got to be realistic about it, too. I'm not going to get my hopes up too high ... Most of the guys are thinking the same way. They'd love to go, but it just seems so complicated at the moment."

When asked Monday about the possibility of a non-NHL Olympics, Fiala said: "How disappointing? Very. It would be my first time. So, you want to go to the Olympics and represent your country."

"Although we are disappointed to receive this decision by the NHL and NHLPA, we nevertheless fully understand the circumstances that forced this action to be taken," International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif said in a statement. "It was a shock to see how COVID-19 affected the NHL schedule almost overnight, and we understand the NHL's decision is in the best interest of the health and safety of its players."

The "backup" Olympic team from the United States would likely include some Minnesotans, especially if the roster is dotted with college players. Whether collegians would be willing to risk a long quarantine, however, is another question.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projected the roster of a non-NHL Team Canada would include former Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, a three-time All-Star now on a tryout contract with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, and former Wild center Eric Fehr, who plays in Switzerland.

The NHL had until Jan. 10 to stay home without a financial penalty. The league planned a break Feb. 6-22 for the Olympics. Postponed games could be scheduled during that time, but many arenas booked events and venues might not be available. A long break after the Feb. 5 All-Star Game in Las Vegas is still possible.

The regular season was set to end April 30, but 50 games have been postponed because of COVID-19 outbreaks on teams, so it could last longer.

The NHL is starting its Christmas break Wednesday, two days earlier than planned, to limit the spread of the coronavirus on teams. All NHL facilities will be closed for four days, from Wednesday through Saturday. There were 131 NHL players in the league's protocols by Tuesday morning.

The Wild is scheduled to return to practice on Sunday, then fly to Winnipeg for a Monday game against the Jets. That game would appear to be in jeopardy, especially with the Wild preparing for the league's marquee event, the New Year's Day Winter Classic at Target Field against the Blues.

Staff writer Sarah McLellan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.