NHL Withdrawing From Olympics After COVID Surge

NHL players will not take part in the Winter Olympics after all.

A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press the league is going to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics after its regular-season schedule was disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks.

At least 50 games have been postponed over the past week because of positive COVID-19 test results among players.

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The NHL, upon agreeing last year to Olympic participation, reserved the right to withdraw if pandemic conditions worsened.

The decision means a second consecutive Olympics without NHL players after they participated five times from 1998 to 2014.

The Minnesota Wild is scheduled to host the Saint Louis Blues on New Year's Day outdoors at Target Feild for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic.