No NHLers at Olympics could benefit host squad

It's looking more and more like the world's best hockey players won't be suiting up at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Last week's announcement by National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman that the NHL has not changed its position on participating in the Games only exacerbated a growing rift with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

After boycotting the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, the NHL remains adamant about having the IOC cover the costs of putting a billion dollars worth of professional talent on display in Beijing, such as travel and accommodation expenses and insurance, which the IOC previously took care of - including for the 2014 Games in Sochi.

More critically, NHL owners want some sort of compensation for suspending the regular season for three weeks and assuming risk for allowing superstars like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid (Canada), Nikita Kucherov and Alex Ovechkin (Russia) and Patrick Kane (US) to participate in the tournament. Teams like Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also feature high-priced NHL talent.

If the owners can't resolve the question of Olympic participation in upcoming collective bargaining talks with the NHL Players Association, they'll want more concessions from the IOC before agreeing to come to Beijing - like getting a cut of merchandising revenues and permission to market the league during the tournament.

The IOC paid basic expenses for NHL players in five straight Olympics, beginning with the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, but pulled the plug ahead of Pyeongchang.

While the prospect of having an NHL-less tournament in 2022 would be a serious blow to what has long been the showcase event of the Winter Olympics, it could be a blessing for Team China.

Despite being ranked a lowly No 32 in the world, the host has been granted a spot in the tournament and might be far more competitive against diluted opposition. For youngsters like defenseman Song Andong and goaltender Sun Zehao, the Games could be a huge career boost.

Song became the first China-born player drafted by the NHL when the New York Islanders selected him in the sixth round (172nd overall) in 2015. Sun was signed to an amateur tryout contract by the Vancouver Canucks in the fall of 2017 and served as a back-up on their roster for the inaugural NHL China Games.

"I never say never, but I find it hard to envision a scenario where it makes sense for us to participate again, unless, possibly, if the Winter Games return to North America where the time frame and the attention and the logistics are a lot different," Bettman said after Pyeongchang.

"The question is, would the fact the 2022 Winter Olympics are in Beijing give us an opportunity to make a real impression in China, where hockey is really in an embryonic state? That's a discussion we have to have to determine whether or not there's an opportunity to grow the game in China by using the Winter Games with NHL players as a catalyst.

"That's the big question ... and I don't know the answer."

Bettman hasn't changed his tune in the past year. If anything, he's become more entrenched.

"I was on a panel about a year and a half ago with (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver, and I asked him: 'Would the NBA shut down in the middle of the season to go to the Olympics?' He said, 'Absolutely not.' He didn't even let me finish the sentence," Bettman said in a recent interview with a Swedish television network.

While the standoff continues, the commissioner has proposed an intriguing option.

"I've asked the IOC, 'Why don't you just put us in the Summer Games?'" Bettman said.

"You know, just for you history buffs, the first participation of hockey in the Olympics was at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

"We'd be happy to go in the summer. And I'm sure the players would be thrilled to go in the summer, too."