Organisers regret pull-out of NHL stars

BEIJING • Winter Olympics organisers expressed "regret" yesterday after the National Hockey League (NHL) said it would not allow its players to compete at the 2022 Games because of disruption to the league schedule caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wednesday's decision by the North American league, which four months ago had agreed to let the players go to Beijing, means the Games will not see some of the best-known athletes expected to compete in the Chinese capital from Feb 4-20.

"We express regret that they cannot take part in the Games because of Covid," Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog) official Huang Chun said.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman noted that the postponement of 50 regular-season games since the Omicron variant started to spread through teams had made participation in the Olympics "no longer feasible".

The league has brought its Christmas break forward and shut down operations until Monday in an effort to combat the outbreak.

It will use the Olympic period to reschedule postponed games.

Luc Tardif, the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, which organises the Olympic tournament, said that he was "disappointed" but understood the decision.

"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," said the Canadian.

Huang, who is also the deputy director general of the Pandemic Prevention and Control Office at Bocog, said he was confident the Covid-19 prevention measures would be effective in protecting athletes at the Games in Beijing.

"We firmly believe these Covid-prevention measures can reduce the risk of infection spreading, and can ensure the health of the athletes and other Games personnel while ensuring the Games go on and that the Chinese people are safe," he said.

NHL players had negotiated a return to the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games into their current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The International Olympic Committee also expressed disappointment for the athletes, with a spokesman saying: "We know that they were desperately keen to participate in the Beijing Games."

Canada and the United States, which would have sent teams made up entirely of NHL players, must now cobble together rosters from other leagues.

Other countries, such as Sweden, Finland, Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic, will also have big holes to fill.

REUTERS