BREAKING: NHL players will participate in 2022 Winter Olympics

The NHL and NHLPA announced the news on Friday. 

Friday morning brought great news for hockey fans. The NHL and NHLPA have reached an agreement for players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1433810905368760323

The news was posted on the official Olympics website on Friday morning.

The preliminary games of the tournament are slated to begin on Feb. 3 with the gold medal game scheduled for Feb. 20.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the “NHL/NHLPA have the ability to withdraw if circumstances change for the worse. Also, if NHL games are cancelled during the season due to outbreaks and there is not room to reschedule, league has option to cancel participation.”

Players are going to the Olympics. Memo was sent to NHL players… pic.twitter.com/OGqVsEKK1O

— The Mayor | John Hoven (@mayorNHL) September 3, 2021

Initial rosters have to be submitted by Oct. 15. Final rosters will be announced in Jan. 2022.

Here are the groups for the preliminary rounds:

Group A

Canada
USA
Germany
China

Group B

Russia
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Denmark

Group C

Finland
Sweden
Latvia
Slovakia