NHL teams could be missing players when the season resumes.

The National Hockey League is drawing closer and closer to its planned return to play but as it turns out things being worked out in the final days of those negotiations with the National Hockey League Players Association. We learned this week that players had secured a guarantee regarding participation in the Olympic Games and that there would be some changes made to NHL's rules surrounding trade deals and player contracts, but those things are ones that will only impact the game in the long term. 

One thing that will have a much more immediate impact on the game itself however is a concession that the league has made regarding player participation in the upcoming return to play initiative. According to a report from Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman, the two sides have agreed that player participation in the upcoming 24 team playoff format will be entirely optional. This means that players who do not wish to risk their health, or risk being away from their loved ones for an extended period of time, or wish not to participate for any other reason will be free to do so without consequence. 

This is a big deal given the fact that some players have already gone on record and stated that they want to avoid the potential of a return to the NHL at all costs. Veteran defenseman Roman Polak of the Dallas Stars recently did an interview in his native language of Czech and made it clear he would do everything to remain in the Czech Republic. 

"I am already determined to stay at home," said Polak earlier during the shutdown. "If I really had to finish the NHL, I would go. But I will do everything to make it unnecessary. I will definitely be here next season."

Polak is not a star player by any stretch of the imagination but he was no doubt a player that the Stars were counting on having available to them during their upcoming playoff run. One has to wonder what other teams might be impacted by this and how the league plans to maintain the competitive integrity of the competition if more players suddenly decide to drop out.