via TSN,

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday that the decision on whether to attend the 2022 Olympics in Beijing will be made by the National Hockey League Players' Association.

"In good faith, we made a promise to the players, and ultimately this is going to have to be a players’ decision," Bettman said.

The deadline for a decision is Jan. 10 and the league's willingness to attend has been thrown into question amid rising COVID-19 numbers around the league and quarantine requirements should a player test positive while in China.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner announced last week he would not play for Team Sweden at the tournament. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston noted Tuesday that other players were likely to follow suit in the coming weeks.

"There are certainly a lot of conversations going on among players that were included on long lists, about whether it’s worth some of the hassle or trouble of going over to China," Johnston said on Insider Trading. "Basically, in the deal the NHL and the NHLPA negotiated with the IOC, the players have the right to withdraw their participation at any point between now and the start of those games.

"From the NHLPA perspective, I think they’re trying to get a handle on how many players we’re talking about. Is it five, is it 10, is it 30 that might pull out? I think it’s on the lower end of that scale and they’re waiting for the IOC’s updated playbook to come out in order to give the players more information. The key there is that if a player, at present, tests positive for COVID while in China he’s got to stay for three weeks and quarantine. There’s some hope that could come down but until they get that information the players probably won’t be making a decision."