Meetings this week in Sochi, Russia, advanced the process on possible NHL participation in next February's Olympics.

"We had two productive days of meetings in Sochi," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com via email. "Saw and visited all the hockey venues, the Olympic Village and other key Olympics-related infrastructure. We met with the Sochi Organizing Committee, the IIHF and a number of IOC representatives. There is more work to be done, but it was an important trip for us to make."