Dreger: NHL players will not participate in 2018 Winter Olympic Games

During a Friday afternoon appearance on TSN 1050 Radio in Toronto, TSN reporter Darren Dreger passed along the news that the NHL "will not" participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which will be hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Dreger was asked to respond to comments criticizing the NHL's Olympic participation by Philadelphia Flyers chairman Ed Snider on Thursday. Dreger suggested that the NHL's time participating in the Olympics was at an end:

"One thing that we need to appreciate with Ed Snider and many owners around the league: they weren't in support of the NHL participating in the Olympic games in Sochi. And the NHL will not participate in Korea. 

There's a lot of reasons why but this isn't a news flash. Ed Snider has been, again, among the most vocal among owners in showing no support for the Olympic games because of its disruption to the National Hockey League."

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be the National Hockey League's fifth time participating in the event.