The National League and the Players’ Association (AJLNH) have agreed to waive the participation of players in the Beijing Olympics. This is reported Tuesday morning by colleague Frank Seravalli, from the DailyFaceoff site.
The announcement can be made by both entities once they have officially notified the International Olympic Committee.
The NHL had until January 10 to remove its players from the tournament without financial penalty.
On Sunday, the NHL and the AJLNH had issued a joint statement in which it was mentioned that the presence of the players in Beijing was the subject of “discussions” and that an announcement would be made in the coming days.
Without NHL players, Team Canada should theoretically be made up of players from Europe, and be led by Claude Julien, who was to be Canada’s head coach at the Spengler Cup. However, Canada has withdrawn from this tournament, scheduled for the holiday season.