The Latest On The NHL And The Olympics
from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,
The NHL and the International Olympic Committee were unable to secure an expanded media rights deal for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but the league still intends to send its players to Beijing, sources told ESPN.
In its new collective bargaining agreement, the NHL agreed to let players participate in the 2022 Beijing Games and 2026 Milan Games contingent on securing agreements with the IOC and IIHF. The 2021-22 regular-season schedule was released with an Olympic break from Feb. 7-22. Talks remain ongoing between the NHL, NHLPA, IIHF and IOC. While no final agreement is imminent, there has been positive momentum toward a resolution for several weeks.
If and when that final deal is announced, it will not include expanded media and marketing rights for the NHL, which had been a goal for the past decade. The NHL was denied "Top Sponsor Status" for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, which would have allowed its website and NHL Network to have content from the Games. It was one of the stated reasons why the league opted not to send its players to those Winter Olympics, among other financial considerations.
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