2022 Olympics : NHL players get unbelievable news on Wednesday!

As negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA finally resulted in some positive news, it seems like hockey fans around the world will be able to cheer some more. 

And players too! They fought so hard to get the NHL to approve their Olympic participation in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reports they have succeeded! 

NHL players will compete in (at least) the 2022 Games and possibly the 2026 Games if new CBA is finalized and there is a financial agreement with the International Olympic Committee. Prior to the pandemic, the IOC indicated it would consider these incentives for the NHL and NHLPA to return to the Olympics after they did not go to South Korea in 2018. The 2022 Olympic Games are set to be held in Beijing, while the 2026 Games will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy.

Players were fighting hard to get back to participating in the Winter Games after they took part in the Olympics in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2014 in Sochi, T.J. Oshie famously scored on four of his six shootout attempts in a U.S.A. win over Russia, though Canada eventually won the tournament. 

In Canada, we all remember in 2010 when the Americans and Canadians went to overtime in the gold medal game in Vancouver, with Sidney Crosby scoring the game-winning goal past Ryan Miller to win gold for the home country. 

Then it was a weird scenario for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. The “Olympic Athletes from Russia” won the gold medal in men’s ice hockey, as Russia was technically banned from the Games due to a doping scandal. And let’s be honest, these Games weren’t fun to watch… 

After battling for their desire to represent their country and win an Olympic Gold medal, it now sounds like NHLers will get that chance to do all this in just two short years.