Announcement on NHL participating in the Olympics leaked ahead of time!

A deal to send NHL players to the 2022 Beijing Games is imminent as it was announced on Friday morning that an agreement was in place and set to be made official later in the day. 

However, fans and pundits noticed on the Olympics website that the announcement had already leaked and shared it on social media for everyone to celebrate. 

That’s right, a headline on the Beijing Olympics website saying NHL players will be back in the Olympics in 2022.

Welcome back, boys! 

Then, a memo sent to the players themselves was also posted for everyone to see on social media. I mean, folks are just too excited! 

Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek posted a tweet earlier on Friday morning stating that he was hearing that  an announcement on the NHL participating in the Olympics is close. 

“Expect something as early as today.”

Unfortunately for everyone in the NHL who might have put the info aside, awaiting the league’s confirmation, it sounds like the Beijing Olympics page could not wait any longer. 

But we bet this is a leak all NHLers will appreciate! As Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman points out there is no insurance for COVID-related illnesses. Players were aware of this, but wanted to go anyways. That's how badly they want to represent their respective countries.

This will be the sixth time NHL players have participated in an Olympics.

Here is the official announcement that came out several minutes after the leak: