Players with NHL contracts, even those in the minors, will not be allowed to participate in the Winter Olympics next February.

Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that all players under contract will be treated the same. The league announced in April it wouldn’t be stopping its season to go to the Olympics for the first time since 1994, but questions had remained about players in the American Hockey League and ECHL.

This means players signed to two-way NHL contracts or who are loaned to minor league affiliates by their clubs won’t be available to the United States, Canada or other national teams. The AHL said earlier this summer that general managers could decide to allow players on AHL contracts to play in South Korea.

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Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno .

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