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PHT Morning Skate: Melnyk on NHL pause; Flames’ arena deal

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The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to withdraw from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics due to surging COVID-19 cases around the league.

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from the NHL and around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.

• Senators owner Eugene Melnyk on the NHL pause: “It sucks but it’s Christmas time so we’re enjoying the break and we’ll use this as a little mental reset to see family and enjoy the holidays, and really enjoy what we have.” [Ottawa Sun]

• “Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation says rising costs associated with the project are preventing the organization from continuing to pursue a new event centre in the city. But the ownership group of the Calgary Flames pledged to keep the team in the Scotiabank Saddledome.” [Sportsnet]

• The province of Alberta will be limiting arena capacity to 50%, which includes the upcoming World Junior Championship. [TSN]

• No NHLers at the Olympics? No problem. [The Hockey News]

• “It would seem the best case scenario for players like Crosby and Alex Ovechkin is for the Beijing Games to be postponed for a year to 2023 — as the Tokyo Summer Olympics were pushed from 2020 to 2021 — because of COVID. But that seems a longshot at best.” [Daily Faceoff]

• Would Jakob Chychrun be the right play for the Ken Holland to make for the Oilers? [Oilers Nation]

• On a six-game win streak, Bruce Boudreau will use the NHL pause to fine-tune his system for the red-hot Canucks. [NHL.com]

• A look at the top NHL prospects developing their games in the QMJHL. [NBC Sports Edge]

• What should we expect from the Bruins following the NHL holiday break? [NBC Sports Boston]

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.