The Ottawa Senators have had three games postponed due to covid-19 outbreaks.
Now the NHL can cancel its participation in the Olympics later this winter.
“If we need to postpone and move matches outside our normal window, it will mean that we will not compete in the Olympics,” league league commissioner Bill Daly told DailyFaceoff.com.
NHL players were not allowed to compete in the 2018 Olympics and it was therefore a hot potato for this season whether they would be allowed to go to Beijing to represent their countries later this winter.
After negotiations between the league and the players’ union, however, it was agreed to let the players go to the Olympics in February.
But now the question is whether it will be so.
The agreement between the league and the players ‘union included a clause that allows the NHL to cancel the players’ participation if they are forced to postpone and reschedule matches, as they already from the start had a tight game schedule with a three-week break for the Olympics at the same time as the premiere. a couple of weeks later than usual.
– If we need to postpone and move matches outside our normal window, it will mean that we do not compete in the Olympics. Our priority is to complete an 82-round basic series during our normal time, rather than Olympic participation, and I think the players’ union understands that. So that possibility exists, says the league’s vice commissioner Bill Daly DailyFaceoff.com.
READ MORE: NHL message – postpones games after covid eruption in Ottawa
And that clause the league can now take advantage of after postponing the Ottawa Senators’ next three matches due to covid outbreaks in the team.
– Yep, a postponed match is enough for it to be activated, says Daly.
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