Many players will be ecstatic after reading this news, including Alex Ovechkin, who places a VERY high value on international competition. It will also be exciting for Team Canada fans, who will be able to watch players like MacKinnon, McDavid and Crosby.
With that being said, let me remind you that the NHL did not participate in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. National Hockey League players did, however, compete in Nagano (1998), Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014).