Beijing 2022: growing doubts over NHL stars’ inclusion at Winter Olympics amid sexual assault case, Peng Shuai saga and Covid-19, insiders say
- Source with knowledge of situation says NHL players may now not feature in the men’s ice hockey competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing
- Their participation is said to be on shaky ground with the league reportedly on high alert because of the sexual assault cases and pandemic restrictions
NHL players fought for inclusion in the Olympics in their latest collective bargaining agreement but uncertainty is growing on whether they will actually head to Beijing in February for the 2022 Winter Games, according to a source based in China with knowledge of the matter.
In October, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks organisation was rocked by a lawsuit filed by a former player, who alleged that he and another player were sexually assaulted by a former video coach in 2010.
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In addition, according to the source, China’s continued “elusive ambition to maintain a zero Covid policy”, including restrictive measures and lockdowns to curb a relatively small number of cases has also caused concern for the NHL, whose players will be heading inside a closed loop for the Olympics.
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“The NHLPA [players’ association] has been quite quiet lately, so you wonder if they might be renegotiating all of this right now behind closed doors,” the source said.
“There is a real general paranoia [around Covid-19 in China] and on top of all of this is just a lack of transparency around everything.”
Sportsnet NHL journalist Elliotte Friedman, widely regarded as one of the league’s top insider pundits, echoed the same sentiments in a recent blog post about the issue.
“It’s now a daily question: ‘What are you hearing about the Olympics?’ The answer: more and more concern. There’s the Covid issue and the moral dilemma, as the women’s tennis tour remains unconvinced about Peng Shuai’s safety.”
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Friedman noted two teams, the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders, have had their seasons severely disrupted by Covid-19 outbreaks and forced the league to cancel games. On top of that, a number of players have been placed in the league’s Covid-19 protocol procedure and have had to miss games.
Sidney Crosby, who will most likely be named team captain for Canada, said he was planning to be in China in February, but acknowledged the growing uncertainty in a postgame interview.
“Everyone feels pretty strongly they’d like to be there, but I try not to think too far ahead … some of that stuff you can’t control. I’m preparing like we’re going. That’s the best way to look at it,” Crosby was quoted as saying.
The NHL and the NHLPA have a clause written into their Olympic participation that allows them to pull out before January 10 if they feel there are substantial concerns around Covid-19.
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One hiring of note is that of former Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien, who has been tipped to lead Canada squads at the Channel One Cup in Russia and the Spengler Cup in Switzerland before the Olympics in February.
This would fall in line with the same strategy Hockey Canada took before the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea where NHL players didn’t participate and heavyweight nations sent coaches over months before to help prepare squads of nationals playing overseas outside the NHL.
