Winter Olympics 2014: NHL players will play in Sochi

The Sochi Olympics are coming up very shortly, leading to the announcement of the United States Snowboard team on Saturday, per NBC Olympics.

Lindsey Jacobellis is among the decorated veterans on the roster. Jacobellis won the silver medal eight years ago in Turin for snowboard cross. She’s also a seven-time gold medalist at the X-Games, most recently in 2011. She currently ranks second in the World Cup standings only behind Canada’s Dominique Maltais.

In 2013, the NHL lost time from its regular season schedule due to a labor dispute. For a second consecutive season the league will halt operation. However, the context of the suspension will be far more enjoyable for fans.

Renaud Lavoie tweeted an update of what this means for the NHL on Monday morning. The league’s membership will give their players a break beginning on Feb. 9 and carrying through Feb. 18 with team activities resuming on Feb. 19. In addition, the NHL will be enacting a freeze on trades from Feb. 7 until Feb. 23, which spans the entirety of the Olympic Games.

Goalies:

Defensemen:

Here is the complete list of invitees, via Russia’s Ice Hockey Federation’s official website:

Defenders

The chase for gold in men’s ice hockey begins Feb. 12.

As part of the announcement that the NHL and NHLPA had come to an agreement with the IIHF to participate in the Sochi games, the schedule for the 11-day tournament was announced by the league and the IIHF today. The NHL will take a break from the 2013-14 regular season starting Feb. 9. The break will last through Feb. 26, while the tournament will take place from Feb. 12-23.

After months and months of waiting, the NHL officially announced that the NHL Players’ Association will be permitted to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Despite widespread speculation about this eventual announcement, the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation continued negotiations through Wednesday into Thursday. With the NHLPA permitted to participate in the games, the NHL schedule is expected to take a 17-day hiatus beginning on Feb. 9. The NHL is expected to resume operation on Feb. 26 after the completion of the Gold Medal Game.