NHL players are set to return to Olympics: Which Bruins will make trip to Beijing in 2022?

For the first time since 2014, NHL players will represent their home counties on one of hockey’s top stages at the Winter Olympic Games. 

The NHL, NHLPA and the IIHF announced on Friday that they have reached a joint agreement that will allow for the participation of NHLers in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Beijing. While participation in the Olympics was tabbed as a concession made by the NHL back in July 2020 when it was hashing out a CBA extension and a Return to Play agreement with the NHLPA, putting pen to paper and working out a deal with the IIHF and IOC was an extended process that included months of negotiations regarding safety protocols and other factors. 

The agreement in place does allow for the possibility of a later decision from the NHL to withdraw from the Winter Games if COVID-19 conditions worsen and could threaten the health of NHL players. 

“I know that I can speak for hockey fans around the world when I say that we absolutely welcome the decision to bring back best-on-best ice hockey to the Olympics,” said IIHF President René Fasel. “We had many constructive discussions, and a lot of hard work was put into making this happen within the time we set out for ourselves, and I want to thank all parties involved for their support and commitment.”

In order to accommodate a scenario in which multiple star players will be headed out to China for the Winter Games, the NHL has set aside a three-week break during the regular season, which will begin with All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas from Feb. 4-5. As such, the Bruins will host the Seattle Kraken at TD Garden on Feb. 1 — and then won’t play again until Feb. 24 in Seattle in a lengthy home-and-home slate with the NHL’s 32nd franchise.

This will stand as the sixth Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament that includes NHL players, which began with the 1998 Nagano Games. NHL players were unable to participate in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang — where the Olympic Athletes from Russia bested Germany in the gold medal game. 

The 2022 Olympic Tournament will feature 12 countries seeded into three groups. The participating countries are: Canada, USA, ROC (Russia), Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark and China. 

NHL participation in the Olympics is a major victory for both the league and the sport in general, giving some of hockey’s top stars more exposure both in North American markets and across the globe. While some of the usual suspects such as Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and more will likely return for 2022, a slew of new NHL stars are set to make their Olympics debut next year, including Connor McDavid (Canada), Auston Matthews (USA), David Pastrnak (Czech Republic), Sebastian Aho (Finland), Nikita Kucherov (ROC), Victor Hedman (Sweden) and Leon Draisaitl (Germany).

While a lot can change between now and the start of the Olympics, it sure seems like a given that multiple Bruins (both players and team personnel) will be making the trek out to China in 2022.

Here’s a look at which Bruins could participate in the Beijing Games:

Patrice Bergeron (Canada): Boston’s captain may be 36 years old, but Bergeron’s standing as one of the game’s premier two-way forwards hasn’t dipped — with the future Hall of Famer finishing second in Selke Trophy voting once again in 2021. Bergeron, who has won two Olympic Gold Medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014, formed a 200-foot-buzzsaw of a line with Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey tournament — and it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if Team Canada keeps that trio together once again in 2021.

Brad Marchand (Canada): After elevating his game and holding court as arguably the top left wing in the game over the last few years, Marchand is set to finally get his due and earn a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic squad. Marchand stands to be a human Swiss Army Knife for the Canadians thanks to his 5v5 play driving abilities, power-play prowess and shorthanded skill. When it comes to projecting potential lines, Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper has an easy task when it comes to just setting that Marchand-Crosby-Bergeron line and siccing it on other opposing club’s top lines.  

David Pastrnak (Czech Republic): Another no-brainer, Pastrnak is poised to open his first Olympic Games with a bang, with the 25-year-old winger set to be the offensive conduit on a Czech team that should be able to pile on some goals with fellow forwards like Ondrej Palat, Jakub Vrana, Tomas Hertl and … David Krejci all expected to be in tow.

Charlie McAvoy (USA):  If Team USA has any shot of toppling the Gold-Medal favorites in Canada, it’s likely going to have to rely on a loaded D corps and a goaltending duo (likely Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson) to keep that high-powered offense at bay. And Charlie McAvoy — fresh off of a top-five finish in Norris Trophy voting in 2021 — figures to be a key cog on an American blue line that will also likely feature names such as Adam Fox, Seth Jones, Ryan McDonagh and Jaccob Slavin.

Linus Ullmark (Sweden): Boston’s new netminder is not guaranteed a featured role on a Swedish goalie corps that includes a few more proven vets ahead of him on the depth chart in Robin Lehner and Jacob Markstrom, but Ullmark could make a pretty good case for himself with a strong first half with Boston in 2021. Boston wouldn’t have handed the former Sabre a $20 million contract if they didn’t think his strong underlying numbers would translate to better baseline production with a better defensive structure and supporting cast in front of him — and that could open the door for the 28-year-old goalie to significantly raise his stock before the 2022 Games commence.  

Erik Haula (Finland): Finland has some legitimate skill up front with guys like Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and Patrik Laine all expected to participate, but a two-way forward like Haula has a good chance of solidifying a spot as a key bottom-six contributor. 

David Krejci (Czech Republic): He may no longer be playing in Boston, but it sure seems likely that Krejci will reunite with some of his former B’s teammates in China — especially given the lack of top-flight pivots on the Czech roster.  The veteran center has already stressed that he intends to play the full 2021-22 season in his native country with HC Olomouc, but it will still be a treat to see a few saucer feeds from No. 46 lead to a Pastrnak tally in Beijing. 

Tuukka Rask (Finland): It remains to be seen if Rask will even be healthy enough to participate in the 2022 Games — or if he wants to play at all depending on what the future holds for him and a potential return to Boston — but a veteran like Rask would make plenty of sense on a Finland team that likely needs another top-flight goalie to pair with Juuse Saros.

Bruce Cassidy (Canada): Boston’s bench boss will also be present during the 2022 Games, as Cassidy was named as an assistant coach for Team Canada — joining fellow assistants in Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Peter DeBoer and New York Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz on Jon Cooper’s staff.

Don Sweeney (Canada): Sweeney will also have a hand in putting together Canada’s 2022 roster, as Boston’s GM will serve as an assistant general manager on Doug Armstrong’s (St. Louis) staff. Ken Holland (Edmonton) will serve as associate general manager — while Ron Francis (Seattle), Roberto Luongo (Florida) and Scott Salmond (Hockey Canada) will also be added as assistants.