NHL Players Won't Participate in 2018 Winter Olympics

The NHL announced Monday players from the league won't be competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

NHL Public Relations shared an official statement from the league:

The Toronto Star's Steve Simmons and Sportsnet's Dimitri Filipovic criticized the NHL's decision:

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote the NHL and International Olympic Committee were at loggerheads before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The NHL decided to fully participate when the IOC said it would pay $14 million to foot the bill for the players' insurance and travel costs. The IOC didn't extend the same courtesy for the 2018 Olympics.

The Associated Press' Andrew Seligman reported in March the International Ice Hockey Federation would pay the NHL $10 million but that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was still holding out for additional concessions. 

Bettman cited the problems created by stopping the NHL regular season for three weeks as a reason for the league's hard line on the Olympics.

The NHL's refusal to take part in the 2018 Games could lead to a faceoff between teams and their players. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is the most prominent name to say he plans on playing in the Olympics regardless of the league's official stance.