Winter Olympics 2018: NHL Announces Decision For PyeongChang Games

UPDATE: 9:50 p.m. EDT — The National Hockey League Players Association said it was disappointed in the NHL’s decision on the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“Any sort of inconvenience the Olympics may cause to next season’s schedule is a small price to pay compared to the opportunity t showcase our game and our greatest players on this enormous international stage,” the NHLPA said.

Original story

The National Hockey League on Monday ruled out participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, North Korea, saying the Olympic committee hasn’t bothered to make participation more attractive. It will be the first time since 1998 that the league has not accommodated the Games.

“This will confirm our intention to proceed with finalizing our 2017-18 regular season schedule without any break to accommodate the Olympic Games. We now consider the matter officially closed,” the NHL said in a statement.

The NHL went to its first Winter Games in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and has participated through the 2014 contests, involving 706 players. But club owners have become less and less enamored as negotiations with the International Olympic Committee have toughened.

Read: NHL Commissioner Pessimistic On Winter Games' Hockey

Last time around, the IOC agreed to pay $14 million in insurance and travel costs for players but has balked in the latest round of talks, and the NHL refused an offer by the International Ice Hockey Federation to pick up the slack, saying it didn’t want funds earmarked for grassroots development to go toward the Olympics, SportsNet reported.

A proposal to give the NHL some of the TV revenue for the Games went nowhere, SportsNet said.

Read: President Trump Says He Will Act Alone On North Korea If Chinese Don't Help

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said club owners dislike the Olympics because it puts a 17-day hole in the league’s schedule.

"I think the overwhelming sentiment of the teams is that it's very disruptive on the season and there is somewhere between fatigue and negativity on the subject," Bettman said last month at the conclusion of the General Managers' meetings in Boca Raton, Florida.

The NHL said polls conducted among fans indicated 73 percent of U.S. fans and 53 percent of Canadian fans were against a midseason break.

The Games have been expensive for teams. Several players suffered season-ending injuries at Sochi.

"I think the realities of Olympic participation are more apparent to our board now, and I think it just leads to less enthusiasm about the disruption," Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said during NHL All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles in January. "Quite frankly we don't see what the benefit is from the game standpoint or the league standpoint with respect to Olympic participation."