The National Hockey League confirmed Wednesday what became clear when Covid-19 caused dozens of games to be postponed and extended the holiday break.
The league, in agreement with its players' association, announced it officially withdrew from the Winter Olympics in Beijing, which are scheduled from Feb. 4-20.
A three-week break was built into the NHL schedule after the league agreed in the summer of 2020 to have its players compete in the best-on-best tournament for the first time since 2014. However, growing concern surrounding the pandemic and a desire to finish an 82-game season on time led to the decision to back out ahead of the Jan. 10 deadline.
"Certainly, the players and hockey fans are quite disappointed," NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said in a statement. "But playing a full 82-game season this year, something the pandemic has prevented us from doing since the 2018-19 season, is very important. We expect that NHL players will return to the Olympics in 2026.”
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Q: Which Sabres were in contention to represent their respective home countries at the Winter Olympics?
Zemgus Girgensons played for Latvia in qualifying games over the summer and, as one of the country's few established NHLers, planned to compete in the Olympics for the second time in his career.
As one of the most productive Swedish defenseman since the start of his rookie season in 2018-19, Rasmus Dahlin was expected to receive an invitation. Winger Victor Olofsson was also a candidate to join Dahlin on Team Sweden.
Defenseman Henri Jokiharju had an outside chance of playing for Finland. Jokiharju, 22, previously won gold with Finland at the Under-18 world championships, the IIHF World Junior Championship and the men's world championship.
Q: Without the three-week February break, should we expect the Sabres to have a postponed game moved to that month?
It's possible. As of now, the Sabres had two home game postponed – a Dec. 20 meeting against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dec. 22 against the Colorado Avalance – and there's plenty of available February dates in KeyBank Center.
The Bandits have two games scheduled for that month (Feb. 5 and 18). The arena will also host events or concerts involving the Harlem Globetrotters (Feb. 4), Billie Eilish (Feb. 12) and Tool (Feb. 23).
Q: Who will compete in the hockey portion of the Olympics with NHLers unavailable?
Countries will pull from the college, professional and European leagues. For example, recent Sabres No. 1 pick Owen Power could be invited to play for Canada, although it's likely Power would prefer to finish his sophomore season at the University of Michigan.
Fellow Sabres prospect Ryan Johnson, a junior defenseman at the University of Minnesota, will be on USA Hockey's radar. Devon Levi, a Sabres goalie prospect at Northeastern University, can be a candidate for Canada.
You'll also see players from the American Hockey League, ECHL and European leagues receive invites. Former Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut, who is in his second season in the Kontintenal Hockey League, could be a candidate to play for Sweden.
Remember, back in 2018, defenseman Will Borgen, then a Sabres prospect, was a freshman at St. Cloud State when he played seven games for Team USA at the Winter Olympics.
This time, though, athletes will face strict protocols in Beijing, limiting their ability to experience much outside the Olympic Village. It might be difficult to convince anyone who is wary about the possibility of a long quarantine in what's being called an "isolation facility" following a positive Covid-19 test during the games.
Q: Could former Sabres captain Jack Eichel compete for Team USA instead of joining the Vegas Golden Knights?
Unfortunately for Eichel, no. All NHL players were forced to withdraw. The good news for Eichel is he'll be 29 years old when the NHL is expected to participate in 2026.
But we've likely seen the last of South Buffalo's Patrick Kane in the Winter Olympics. Kane, a two-time Olympian and silver medalist in 2010, will be 37 in 2026.
“It’s just a tough situation for everybody,” he told Chicago reporters Tuesday. “You’re excited to be able to get the chance to represent your country. Obviously, I’m 33 right now, so you’re hoping you can play in as many as possible. But I don’t know if it would’ve really been a true Olympics experience this year, with being in a bubble and with all the worries going over there.
“I was definitely fortunate to play in Sochi, and Vancouver was just unbelievable. I don’t think the Olympic experience will be even close to comparable to what we had there in 2010. I felt like I would’ve had the chance to be in a leadership role this year, so it would’ve been fun to play with a lot of younger players and some great players around the league.”
