Crosby says he'd be disappointed to miss Olympics; NHL/NHLPA announcement to come soon

With COVID-19 causing games to be postponed and forcing teams to close their facilities, it's seeming more and more likely that the NHL won't be sending their players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. At this point, all we're waiting for is a formal announcement from the NHL and NHLPA.

Sidney Crosby, who was Canada's captain in 2014, and scored one of the most important goals in the country's history back in 2010, says that not being able to go to the upcoming Olympics is disappointing.

"It would be disappointing, that's the best way I can describe it," Crosby told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "Obviously, I know from experience how special and unique the Olympics are. And not only thinking about my experience, but thinking of the guys that haven't had the opportunity to be part of it."

He added, "Just trying to be part of the solution was kind of how I looked at it and understanding from talking to guys just the fact that everyone really wanted to be a part of the Olympics and understandably so," Crosby said. "It's a unique experience, there's nothing like it as an athlete. It's very special. I think trying to relay that and also trying to work through the issues and understand what they are, and how we can try to make it work, it's a complex situation, you know, this isn't the same as the issues leading up to the Olympics in the past."

Crosby, 34, was one of three players named to Canada's roster back in October along with Connor McDavid and Alex Pietrangelo.

With the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading fast around the world, could there be a chance that the Olympics get postponed to 2023? That will be something to keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks, but if it does get postponed, we may end up seeing NHL participation after all.

As for the official statement from the NHL/NHLPA regarding no Olympic participation, DailyFaceoff's Frank Seravalli believes that it could come as early as today.

"No surprise, but #NHL + #NHLPA are in agreement that NHL players will not participate in #Beijing2022 Olympics. Once they notify IOC, an official announcement will come - perhaps as soon as today, maybe later this week. Now, question is: Will 2022 Olympics be postponed to 2023?" Seravalli said.

No surprise, but #NHL + #NHLPA are in agreement that NHL players will not participate in #Beijing2022 Olympics. Once they notify IOC, an official announcement will come - perhaps as soon as today, maybe later this week.

Now, question is: Will 2022 Olympics be postponed to 2023? https://t.co/8aR0aKmqNl— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 21, 2021

Source: theScore.

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