Like it or not, the NHL is not going to the 2018 Olympics.

 

That became official Monday, as the league announced it will not participate in the Pyeongchang games. The decision was not a surprise. Two weeks ago, commissioner Gary Bettman said to “assume we’re not going.”

 

While some players, namely the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, have gone on record to support Olympic participation, the NHL made it clear Monday that it will not break up its regular season to accommodate certain players’ wishes.

 

In fact, the NHL emphasized in its Monday announcement that it was open to considering an Olympics partnership on the condition that the NHL Players Association make a potential participation “more attractive to the clubs.” But that evidently did not occur.