The NHL and NHLPA on Sunday "presented polar opposite viewpoints" about participating in the '18 PyeongChang Games as the league approaches a mid-January deadline set by the IOC, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.ca. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman prior to the Red Wings-Maple Leafs Centennial Classic said that the league’s owners "didn’t have a 'whole lot of sentiment' to halt their season again." NHLPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr followed that by saying that he is "'more optimistic now' than ever that his players will be" in PyeongChang. Bettman said that the NHL is still looking for "'some compelling reason' to pause their season for three weeks." Bettman has kept the "target moving in the Olympic discussion," as he "did not mention funding, or lack thereof." The NHL in November "linked Olympic participation and a whole slate of international events -- including additional World Cups and a potential Ryder Cup-style gathering -- to an extension" of the current CBA. Fehr said that it is "possible still to work out a separate international agreement outside of the current CBA, but it would not be possible to renegotiate a new CBA in the next few weeks." Seravalli noted Bettman has "not received a firm answer from the IOC yet as to whether the NHL would be permitted to skip" PyeongChang and return to the Olympics for the '22 Beijing Games. The NHL sees China "as fertile ground for new business." Fehr called his "newfound optimism ... a hunch." He added that there were "no new Olympic participation meetings planned, but not to read into that detail." He "expected to meet with IIHF president Rene Fasel in Montreal later this week, as well as the respective heads of international federations, as the World Junior Championship shifts to Bell Centre" (TSN.ca, 1/1).
HARD STANCE: Bettman said that there has been "no change in the league’s position" regarding Olympic participation. Bettman: "We've been there, done that five times and while Vancouver and Salt Lake City were different, when you're halfway around the world it's not the easiest thing to have in our season" (USATODAY.com, 1/1). Bettman said that the owners "remain hard pressed to accept a shutdown of the league in mid season, a stretch that would see the NHL halt games for about two weeks during the Olympics." Bettman added that the "shutdown also forces a 'compression' of the regular season schedule that is less than appealing to the owners" (TORONTO STAR, 1/2).
