What would the 2002 Winter Games be without the best ice hockey players in the world?
Utah won't have to find out.The National Hockey League, its Players Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation announced Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Russia, they have worked out an agreement allowing NHL players to compete in the 2002 Olympic tournament.
"We are pleased that the IIHF appears to have been able to work out all the final details of our Olympic participation," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement released by the league.
The agreement has been approved by the NHL's board of governors but still must be ratified by the international federation's Congress and the NHL Players Association executive committee.
The Congress, however, is expected to approve the agreement when it holds its annual meetings in St. Petersburg later this week. And the Players Association also is expected to sign off on the deal when it meets next month.
"It is always exciting for the fans to watch the world's best hockey players exhibit their skills on an international stage," said Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow.
"The players are looking forward to participating in Salt Lake City in 2002 and at the World Cup of Hockey tournament in the fall of 2004."
The agreement also calls for NHL players to compete in the World Cup, which will be held in 2004 for only the second time. The United States won the first World Cup in 1996, defeating Canada in the championship game.
The 2002 Winter Games men's ice hockey tournament will be held at the E Center in West Valley City.
The NHL allowed its star players to compete in the Olympics for the first time in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Despite a roster that included many of the top scorers in the NHL, Team USA played poorly and finished out of the medal standings. The Czech Republic claimed gold.
The NHL was embarrassed by the Americans, who broke furniture and trashed their rooms in the Olympic Village after being eliminated.
The NHL also did not enjoy the marketing success it had hoped for in 1998, in part because of the time difference that kept televised games out of prime time in the United States.
On top of that, some NHL owners were concerned about injuries to players and about the 12-day break in the NHL schedule that will be necessary in February 2002 to allow for participation in the Winter Games.
But Bettman made it clear in February of this year that the NHL was in favor of having its players participate once again.
The NHL, USA Hockey and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee had hoped an agreement would be reached long before now. But the four European nations whose best players routinely go on to play for NHL clubs -- the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden -- initially balked at the agreement.
The International Ice Hockey Federation affiliates in those countries sought more compensation from the NHL for developing future NHL stars. The NHL ultimately was able to separate that issue from the question of Olympic participation.
Still, issues such as insurance, and tickets and accommodations for family members and guests remained to be worked out. Those issues were apparently resolved Tuesday in a pre-Congress meeting with all of the concerned parties, including officials from USA Hockey, this country's affiliate with the international federation.
SLOC had requested that the federation make a final decision on the matter during the St. Petersburg Congress, to be held Thursday through Sunday. SLOC wants to issue its ticket package for the 2002 Winter Games in October and needed an answer so it could prepare for that release.
Now that the NHL is in, SLOC can scrap its contingency plan for a 12-team tournament of amateur players and focus on a 14-team scenario.
Eight teams will compete in a preliminary tournament during the first week of the 2002 Games, with the top two teams advancing to compete in the final round with the six NHL-influenced hockey powers -- the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, Canada and the United States.
You can reach Zack Van Eyck by e-mail at zman@desnews.com