After missing the 2018 Games, NHL players will return to the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.
The NHL and its players association said Friday that an agreement has been reached for a breakout for the 2021-22 season so players can compete in the Olympics.
The league said plans could change if participation in the Games is judged to be dangerous due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ice hockey competition at the Olympics runs from February 4 to 20. No NHL matches are scheduled from February 3 to February 22.
For decades the Games were limited to amateur players, meaning that Eastern European teams, particularly the Soviet Union, had the upper hand against Western youth players, with rare exceptions such as the USA’s 1980 “Miracle on Ice” win.
NHL players began participating in 1998, and Canada won three of the next five gold medals. The United States has not won a medal since 2010. lost the gold medal game overtime to Canada.
For the 2018 Sochi Games, no agreement was reached For NHL players to participate. The league said it was reluctant to disrupt its season and was concerned about injuries. He also believed that he deserved some of the big Olympic income.
This decision split the players with the owners who were mostly against joining. largely wanted to go to the Games.
As a result, teams in 2018 consisted of minor league players and players based in Europe. In a setback, Russia won on home ice using players from their domestic KHL, who were on hiatus for the Olympics.
Details of the agreement between the NHL, its players and the International Ice Hockey Federation, which runs the sport internationally, were not immediately released on Friday.