Olympic Ice Hockey

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday the league isn't close to an agreement to make its players available for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Daly shot down recent speculation about the NHL's potential participation in the Games in an email to John Wawrow of the Associated Press.

"We aren't there yet. In fact, we aren't even close to being there," Daly wrote. "At this point in time, we continue to believe that the negatives outweigh the positives."

National Hockey League Players' Association executive director Don Fehr and Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf both expressed concern the league was using the Olympics as a bargaining chip with collective bargaining agreement talks scheduled for this week in Toronto.

"I can't figure out why anybody would not want to go and take advantage of this opportunity because it doesn't come around every day," Fehr told Wawrow. "We think and have always thought that a matter like this should be addressed on its own merits, and it seems to us that the merits on this one are crystal-clear, pellucidly clear."

Getzlaf added: "Why do you think that is? They're a business. If they put that into negotiations, that means it's a leverage chip for them that they're going to try to use against us."

The NHL pulled its participation from the Olympics, which take place during the middle of the regular season, ahead of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin was adamant he was going to represent Russia despite the league's decision, but he ultimately released a statement confirming he couldn't take part.

"I said every time I was asked since last Olympics that nobody is going to tell me I can't play because my country was going to be allowed to ask me," Ovechkin said in 2017. "Now the IIHF and NHL say my country is not allowed to ask anybody in the NHL to play, and there is nothing to talk about anymore."

Led by former NHL stars Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk, who has since returned to the league, the Olympic Athletes from Russia—the designation given to Russian athletes cleared to compete despite the country's ban for state-sponsored doping—captured the gold medal.

Unfortunately, men's ice hockey transformed from one of the Winter Games' premier events into an afterthought since most of the world's top players weren't in attendance.

The current NHL CBA runs through September 2022, and Fehr told Wawrow he's hopeful the posturing when it comes to the Olympics "will give way to the facts and circumstances."

"We participated in five consecutive Olympic Games," Daly said, "beginning long before Don was involved in our league. We have a pretty good sense of the positives and negatives associated with participation."

An agreement likely must get reached by next summer because the 2021-22 schedule would need to get adjusted to fit an Olympic break in February if the sides come to terms on participation.

Mark Pavelich, who starred on the 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning United States men's hockey team, has been ruled "mentally ill" and "dangerous" by a Minnesota district judge.

Per Pam Louwagie of the Star Tribune, the judge has ordered the 61-year-old to be committed to a secure treatment facility.

Louwagie explained the circumstances leading to the decision, including criminal charges against Pavelich in August.

"Pavelich faced criminal charges that he beat a friend with a metal pole in August after a day of fishing. Charging documents alleged that he had accused the friend of 'spiking his beer' and that his friend suffered cracked ribs, a bruised kidney and a fractured vertebra, as well as bruises.

"Judge Michael Cuzzo found Pavelich incompetent to stand trial, however, concluding based on an expert report that Pavelich was 'incapable of participating in the defense due to mental illness or deficiency.' The criminal case was put on hold while the state moved to civilly commit him to treatment."

Two psychologists examined Pavelich. Chris Bowerman wrote that Pavelich had delusions and paranoia, and Jacqueline Buffington said that the ex-hockey star has "mild neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury with behavioral disturbance (psychotic symptoms, aggression)."

Pavelich had one goal and six assists in seven contests for the "Miracle on Ice" gold-medal winners. He had two assists in the team's legendary 4-3 upset victory over the Soviet Union in a medal-round game.

Pavelich played in 341 regular-season NHL games over seven seasons, including five with the New York Rangers from 1981 to 1986. He posted 133 goals and 185 assists.

Per Louwagie, Pavelich's family believes that Pavelich suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) because of repeated concussions during his NHL days. Court documents also reveal that the family started noticing changes a few years ago and sought to get help for Pavelich, who refused assistance.

"He's been an amazing brother. Fun. Loving," Pavelich's sister Jean Gevik said. "This has been a total change."

The Associated Press (h/t Charlotte Observer) discussed the link between CTE, concussions and the NHL in its piece covering the judge's decision to have Pavelich committed.

"CTE, which can be diagnosed only after death, has been found in several former NHL players, more than 100 former NFL players and in dozens more athletes and members of the military who have been exposed to repetitive head trauma. The disease can lead to memory loss, depression and even suicide. The NHL has long denied there is a conclusive link between repeated blows to the head and CTE. ...

"The NHL has been criticized for the way it has handled head injuries. Last year, the league settled a court case with hundreds of retired players who claimed they were harmed by head injuries. The NHL admitted no wrongdoing. Pavelich did not make a claim, Gevik has said."

Pavelich is from Lutsen, Minnesota. Per Louwagie, a hearing will occur in February to determine whether he will continue to be committed for an undetermined period of time.