Will Covid-19 Jeopardize The NHLs 2022 Winter Olympics Participation? – Forbes

With 10 Ottawa Senators players in Covid-19 protocol, the NHL has elected to postpone the team's ... [+] games through at least Nov. 20. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Does this weeks postponement of three Ottawa Senators games mark the first nail in the coffin for NHL players return to the Olympics?

A Covid-19 outbreak placed 10 Senators players and associate coach Dave Capuano into protocol as of Monday, when the league announced that evidence of continued spread in recent days triggered the postponement decision. The Senators were set to visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, then host the Nashville Predators on Thursday and the New York Rangers on Saturday.

The outbreak has occurred despite ongoing protocols put into place by the league before the season. All Senators players are fully vaccinated.

The Senators organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, provincial and national agencies, the league said in a statement.

Despite those best efforts, the virus made its way through the team for more than a week before the leagues decision to postpone. Forward Austin Watson was the first to be placed in Covid protocol, on Nov. 6. Over the next three days, four more players joined him on the list. Another four were added on Nov. 11, and Drake Batherson became the 10th player added on Nov. 14 hours before the undermanned Senators were shut out 4-0 by the Calgary Flames.

Per the Associated Press, the postponements are the first of the 2021-22 season among North Americas major fall leagues the NFL, NBA and NHL. Major League Baseball postponed nine games over its recently completed 2,430-game 2021 season.

Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier were among the seven San Jose Sharks who missed multiple games while in ... [+] Covid protocol. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Other NHL teams have also had players and team staff in and out of the protocol this season. Another significant outbreak also occurred in San Jose, where the Sharks had seven players placed in Covid protocol on Oct. 30. While two players were cleared after one-game absences, two others were then added to the list. The Sharks continued to play their regular schedule, and returned to full strength on Nov. 12.

Ice hockey players practise during a test event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games at the ... [+] National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on April 1, 2021. (Photo by Noel Celis / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

What does this have to do with the Olympics?

Broadly speaking, the NHL and its owners are less-than-keen about participation in the Games, believing that the disruption to their season is not outweighed by the Olympics massive global stage. That belief triggered the decision not to allow NHL players to participate in the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.

But players love the opportunity to suit up for their countries in a best-on-best tournament. During the pandemic shutdown in 2020, they negotiated Olympic participation back into their latest collective bargaining agreement. In the midst of a very complicated negotiation, the league reluctantly agreed to facilitate that participation, if possible.

In September, the NHL and NHL Players Association announced that they had reached an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation for Beijing 2022, but warned that Covid-19 could still be an issue.

At that time, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly toldFrank SeravalliofDaily Faceoffthat withdrawal could be triggered by schedule disruption.

If we have to either cancel games or if we have to postpone and reschedule games outside our normal window, that would mean we will not participate in the Olympics, Daly said.I think our priority has to be completing our 82-game season in the normal course, and not necessarily the Olympics. I think the Players Association recognizes that. So there is that trigger.

On its own, rescheduling three Ottawa Senators games shouldnt be enough to activate that trigger. But it certainly raises the flag of concern particularly coming so quickly on the heels of the Sharks outbreak. The possibility still remains that more Senators games could be postponed if their situation continues to worsen. And with other positive tests already having popped up elsewhere in the league, more widespread impacts could still occur.

Nearly two months of runway remain. The NHL and the NHL Players Association have a deadline of Jan. 10 to determine whether the Covid-related disruptions to the league schedule will render Februarys Olympic break unfeasible.

Currently, no games are scheduled between Feb. 3 and Feb. 22. That break also includes the NHLs 2022 All-Star Weekend, set for Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas.

In early October, each national team named three players expected to suit up at the Olympic tournament. Further roster construction continues behind the scenes. Final rosters are set to be announced in January.

With NHL players participating, Canada won the last two Olympic gold medals, in 2010 and 2014. Without NHL players, the Olympic Athletes from Russia defeated Germany for gold in Pyeongchang in 2018.

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Will Covid-19 Jeopardize The NHLs 2022 Winter Olympics Participation? - Forbes