The Tokyo Olympics just ended no more than a month ago. Well, the Beijing Olympics are just months away in a strange occurrence due to the Tokyo Games being postponed a year. However, the winter Olympics will feature NHL players, as announced on Friday.

According to Stadium, they have reached an agreement to allow NHL players to participate in the Beijing Olympics.

This is a huge development and a surprising one for some. The NHL season is right in the middle of the time of the Olympics, but according to the official release from the NHL and NHLPA, there will be a break to allow players to participate.

“…confirms a break in the 2021-22 NHL Regular Season Schedule, subject to terms of the Agreement, in order to accommodate the participation of NHL Players in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.”

This will make things vastly different for the teams competing and this will be the sixth time that the Olympics will allow for NHL athletes to participate, which should make for some interesting teams similar to the basketball teams that were constructed.

The Winter Olympics kick off in 2022 in Beijing, just months after the conclusion of the Summer Games in Tokyo, which is exciting for the fans eager to watch the sport.