"Health remains our top priority": NHL will answer about hockey players' trip to the Beijing Olympics in the coming days

"We will be flexible depending on the situation."

The participation of players, playing under the auspices of the National Hockey League, in the next Olympic Games in Beijing is again in question.

The reason lies in the difficult epidemiological situation in North America, due to which 40 matches have already been postponed.

On the night from Sunday to Monday, the NHL leadership, together with the NHLPA players' union, announced that the regular season, despite all the difficulties, would be brought to an end.

It is noted that although the number of positive tests for COVID-19 has increased, cases of severe disease remain rare.

In addition, almost all athletes and club employees have been vaccinated.

“The practice of postponing the matches of individual teams, depending on the situation, should be continued. The effectiveness of the recently announced additional security measures and virus detection will be evaluated on a daily basis. The NHL and the NHLPA, together with doctors, will continue to monitor not only the number of detected cases of coronavirus infection and the severity of the disease, but also the depth of the team composition to ensure the safety, health of hockey players and the integrity of the championship, ”- said in a statement published on the official website of the NHL.

Just in order to ensure safety, all matches that were supposed to take place before December 23 between the Canadian and American teams have been postponed.

The list included 11 meetings at once: Islanders - Montreal, Edmonton - Anaheim, Ottawa - St. Louis, San Jose - Vancouver, Rangers - Montreal , Los Angeles - Edmonton, Toronto - St. Louis, Ottawa - Carolina, New Jersey - Montreal, Vancouver - Anaheim and San Jose "-" Edmonton ".

But most importantly, in the coming days the NHL promised to give an answer regarding the participation of their hockey players in the Olympic Games in Beijing.

It is noted that the leadership of the league and the NHLPA continue to actively discuss this issue.

“In this ever-changing and unpredictable environment, our top priority remains the health and safety of the entire NHL community.

We will continue to act flexibly depending on the situation, making decisions on the championship calendar and making adjustments to the security protocols as needed, ”the release says.

Just hours later, a message emerged on the social media podcast of former league players Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnett that the decision had already been made.

According to the source, the hockey players' trip to China is "very unlikely."

Based on the development of events, no one will be surprised if the NHL officially prohibits its athletes from taking part in the Olympic Games and the situation four years ago repeats itself.

The epidemiological situation in Canada and the United States is deteriorating, and the league leadership is forced to make up a new calendar on the fly, so as not to make a forced pause in the regular season.

The first was the postponed match "Ottawa" - "New Jersey", which was supposed to take place on November 16, and took place on December 6.

The really difficult situation became in the second half of December, when the meetings had to be postponed every day.

At the moment, there are exactly 40 confrontations on the list.

Moreover, new dates for 38 of them have not yet been determined.

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus is also growing.

On Monday, it included 114 hockey players and 41 club employees.

The most difficult situation was in Calgary Flames, where the number of cases was 19 people.

In particular, the list included Russian defender Nikita Zadorov.

The Boston Bruins and Detroit Wings each have nine cases, and the Nashville Predators have eight.

All this forces the clubs to completely interrupt the training process.

For example, on Monday, “Detroit”, “Columbus” and “Montreal” took such a step.

Until the end of the Christmas break - December 26 - their training bases will be closed and matches postponed.

"Nobody can say now whether hockey players will come to Beijing or not."

In Russia, they reacted calmly to the news that hockey players playing in the NHL could miss the Olympics again.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the national team of the country have been ready for such a development for a long time.

So, the head of the FHR Vladislav Tretyak told about the existence of "plan B".

“They say that now in the United States a lot of people get sick with the new strain.

We are worried about our players.

Many hockey players fell ill ... Let's see what happens next.

Something changes every day.

In the NHL, matches are canceled.

How they will carry them and where, I do not know.

Now everything is under a big question ... We are preparing for any scenario ", - quotes the words of the Match TV functionary.

In turn, the head coach of the national team Aleksey Zhamnov urged to wait for the official announcement.

“When they consider it, then we will talk.

Now then what to argue ... When the complete information appears, then we will talk.

Is everyone in limbo?

I myself am not worried, "- quotes a specialist" Sport-Express ".

But the vice-president of the KHL Valery Kamensky called the possible refusal of the NHL to travel to China "a big blow" for both hockey players and spectators.

According to him, the whole world wanted to see the strongest players in Beijing.

Long-term president of IIHF Rene Fasel also spoke about the situation.

In his opinion, with the adoption of the decision, the overseas league will drag out "to the very end."

“We live in difficult times ... This is a real nightmare.

There is no other way to describe the situation.

Nobody can say now whether the hockey players will come to Beijing or not.

Of course, you need to prepare for the Games with a backup plan in mind, "the Match TV functionary quotes.

One way or another, it cannot be ruled out that the Russian national team, made up of the strongest hockey players of the KHL, will go to Beijing, like the Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018.

The fans saw its prototype at the home stage of the Euro Hockey Tour - the First Channel Cup.

In this case, the national team will again become the main favorite and will have a good opportunity to defend the title.

However, according to the two-time Olympic champion Vyacheslav Fetisov, the collectors should not relax anyway.

“We played interestingly at the Channel One Cup.

I look at the team with hope.

This is the first experience for the coaching staff.

But the most important thing was that they showed good hockey.

If the NHL players do not come, there will be a different game, a different level, a different interest.

But you still need to win.

You remember how we in South Korea rebounded from the Germans in the last seconds, "Fetisov said in an interview with the Championship.

At the same time, he stressed that hockey players playing overseas really want to go to the Olympic Games and will be upset. 

“I talked to the guys, they were focused on the Olympics.

Sasha Ovechkin began the season realizing that in February he would have to play for the Russian national team.

For the strongest hockey players, this is an opportunity to compare their level with the rest.

If the NHL refuses to participate, there will be a lot of regrets and idle talk.

This is a great loss, "Fetisov added.

But another two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov, on the contrary, did not see anything wrong with the possible refusal of the NHL team to travel to China.

“I will hope to the end.

There is a time until January 10.

It will be very bad if they don't come.

Such interest in the tournament will not rise in the world.

But if they don't want to, let them not come.

The Olympics are not only for them.

Globally, nothing bad will happen.

Games - there are Games.

And they are for everyone, not just NHL players, ”Kozhevnikov stressed.