Chicago Blackhawks players won’t be seen at the Winter Olympics

The Chicago Blackhawks were going to have a lot of players that are participating in the Winter Olympic Games. It was going to be a lot of fun to see players from around the National Hockey League represent their countries in the games but it will not happen now.

The NHL and NHLPA have mutually agreed to not send players to the Olympics because of concerns with COVID-19. Cases are rising all over the world and hockey has been severely impacted. The league started to make slow adjustments but it eventually led to them shutting it down through the Christmas holiday.

This announcement is sad but it is for the best. Nobody wants to see an NHL player miss time with his club because he tested positive in China and can’t come home. As fun as it would have been, the league needs to do what is in the best interest of its teams and players.

There are a fair amount of Blackhawks players that were going to be participating. Each country announced three players that were the “first three” named to the roster. Patrick Kane and Seth Jones were two of the three players that were named for Team USA.

The Chicago Blackhawks and NHL won’t be going to the Olympic Games.

Each of them would have really helped the team win games in the Olympics. Alex DeBrincat would have probably made it as well when the rest of the roster was announced as he is one of the best American players in the league right now. Unfortunately, his first-ever Olympics is going to have to wait. Team USA would have been really good so this hurts.

Guys like Marc-Andre Fleury and Dominik Kubalik would each have a chance as well. None of them are locks but they would have at least been considered. Now, the Blackhawks know that they will have their full roster safe in North America instead of taking risks in China.

There are other NHL superstars that are missing out as well. It is disappointing to see players like Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon miss out as they all would have been a pleasure to watch.

Some of them will be able to get another chance at this in 2026. However, 37-year-old Patrick Kane might have a hard time cracking Team USA at that point in time. It is a bummer for a lot of players in the league in similar situations. This is less than ideal but as mentioned before, it is in the best interest of the league.