The NHL Is Not Allowing Players to Compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Here ’s What to Know

The National Hockey League will not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which means some of the world’s greatest hockey players, including Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, will not be allowed at the Games. The NHL decided earlier this year not to give its players a break during the 2017-18 season to compete for Team USA and other countries, and the issue remains controversial as the NHL’s season gets underway on Oct. 4. The move puts an end to the NHL’s streak of sending its players to the Winter Olympics for the past five Games. The NHL’s April decision leaves the U.S. to form a team of NCAA college athletes, European-based players and professionals competing in other leagues outside of the NHL. Other countries who also would have relied on talent from the NHL will have to make other plans as well. Here’s what you need to know about why the NHL will not be competing: Why is the NHL not going to the Olympics? The NHL’s decision to pull out of the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics came as a result of a series of disputes between the league and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the costs incurred by NHL athletes and who would cover them. The IOC had paid for the travel, insurance, accommodations and other costs for NHL players but refused to continue to do so for 2018. When the IOC announced it would not pay these costs any longer, the International Ice Hockey Federation had offered to pay up to $20...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized olympics 2018 onetime Source Type: news