While the possibility of NHL players participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics looks to be in doubt, the league should determine its expansion plans next month.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday at his annual Stanley Cup Final press conference that the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation will no longer pay for insurance and travel for NHL players, per A.J. Perez of USA Today.
The two international groups have paid for commuting costs for past Olympics, as well as for insurance policies should a player be injured while competing at the Games. That burden will now be placed on the NHL owners, which Bettman said would cost millions of dollars.
“Our owners are not interested in paying for their players to go to the Olympics, but we will have to see what they decide,” Bettman said, per Perez.
NHL players have played in the Olympics since 1998, but USA Today's Kristen Shilton believes the issues will not affect Canadian fans:
NHL fans might be disappointed not to see their favorite players at the Olympics, ...
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Article written by Brian Marron
Gary Bettman Comments on NHL Expansion, 2018 Winter Olympics
May 30th, 2016 by Brian Marron Leave a reply »
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