The NHL announced Monday that it would not be sending its players to the Olympics in South Korea in 2018, ending months of debate over the issue of participation in Pyeongchang.

The league had been looking for conciliatory offers from the IOC and/or the NHLPA in order to placate an ownership group increasingly unhappy with the league shutting down for weeks every four years to take part in the Olympic tournament.

When that didn't happen in recent weeks, the league decided to formally make the announcement that it would not participate in the South Korea Games, making good on a promise to resolve the matter prior to the start of the NHL playoffs.