According to Aaron Ward of TSN, who never ever gets it wrong, NHL Players will be allowed to participate in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
UPDATE:
The NHL officially confirmed this news shortly after. Straight from the NHLPA website,
NEW YORK/TORONTO (July 19, 2013) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today that an agreement has been reached with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to secure participation of NHL players in the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
NHL players will be available to the 12 participating IIHF Member National Associations for the men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament (February 12 – 23, 2014). This will mark the fifth consecutive time dating back to Nagano 1998 that NHL players have participated in the Olympics. More than 120 NHL players are expected to compete for their respective nations in Sochi.
The NHL will break from the 2013-14 regular season schedule on February 9 and return to play February 26 to allow for participation in the Games.”
Now that this issue has been resolved, we can expect a complete schedule for the 2013-2014 NHL season to be released any day now.
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