The NHL is set to return to the Olympics in Beijing this winter after reaching an agreement with international officials, though the league and players have the opportunity to withdraw if pandemic circumstances warrant.
The NHL, its players’ union, the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation struck a deal Friday that will put the best players in the world back on sports’ biggest stage in February after they skipped the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
“It was not easy, but we did it,” IIHF president René Fasel told The Associated Press by phone. “I’m really, really happy.