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The head of the International Olympic Committee is joining high-level talks over whether the world's best hockey players will participate when the South Korea Winter Olympics begin 12 months from now, two people familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The IOC and the International Ice Hockey Federation requested a meeting Friday with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players Association Executive Director Don Fehr, the people said on condition of anonymity because the development was not formally announced.

The meeting is the first to include IOC President Thomas Bach, IIHF President Rene Fasel, Bettman and Fehr regarding the NHL's participation in the 2018 Olympics, they said.

Fasel has been talking and meeting with Bettman and Fehr for months, trying to make sure the top hockey players compete in a sixth straight Olympics.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last weekend league owners are leaning against it .

"If the status quo remains, I don't expect us to be in the Olympics," Daly said during last weekend's All-Star break.

The NHL has been the only professional sports league that pauses its season to allow its athletes to participate in the Olympics. It simply might not be willing to do that again next season.

The IOC has provided some compensation in the past, paying for travel and insurance expenses to get hockey's best to each Winter Olympics since 1998. The IOC, though, doesn't want to continue that practice. It spent about $14 million to cover travel and insurance for NHL players for the 2014 Olympics in Russia. Even if travel and insurance costs are covered, there's no guarantee the league and union will agree to go to South Korea.

While Friday's meeting might move the parties closer to a decision, it might take months for it to be resolved. Before the last Winter Olympics in Russia, a decision was not made until the previous summer.

The NHL is hoping to have a resolution sooner than later so that it can set next season's schedule.

Pyeongchang is 14 hours ahead of New York, making it difficult for TV viewers in North America to watch the games, and South Korea isn't a market the NHL is as excited about as China's in the 2022 Olympics.

Most players have expressed interest in playing for their home nations and competing for Olympic gold. Washington star Alex Ovechkin has said that he would play for Russia in Pyeongchang even if the NHL doesn't stop its season for players to participate.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said he will support Ovechkin and others if they choose to defy the league's wishes next year.

"It's a players' league," Leonsis said Wednesday. "If Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby and Nick Backstrom tell us, 'We want to go play for our country,' how am I going to say no? I might get fined. I might get punished in some way, but I feel I'm in partnership with Nick and Braden and Alex. It's a tough decision." —

NHL standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Montreal 52 30 15 7 67 156 130

Ottawa 49 27 16 6 60 137 131

Boston 54 26 22 6 58 138 143

Toronto 49 23 17 9 55 149 144

Florida 51 22 19 10 54 122 142

Buffalo 50 20 20 10 50 121 143

Tampa Bay 52 22 24 6 50 141 155

Detroit 50 20 21 9 49 126 148

Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Washington 51 34 11 6 74 167 112

Columbus 49 33 12 4 70 166 118

Pittsburgh 49 31 13 5 67 176 143

N.Y. Rangers 51 32 18 1 65 173 136

Philadelphia 52 26 20 6 58 144 161

N.Y. Islanders 48 22 17 9 53 139 138

Carolina 49 22 20 7 51 131 141

New Jersey 51 21 21 9 51 117 147

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Minnesota 50 33 12 5 71 166 116

Chicago 53 31 17 5 67 147 138

Nashville 51 25 18 8 58 142 134

St. Louis 51 25 21 5 55 146 158

Winnipeg 54 25 25 4 54 159 167

Dallas 52 21 21 10 52 144 164

Colorado 48 13 33 2 28 94 166

Pacific GP W L OT Pts GF GA

San Jose 52 33 17 2 68 142 118

Anaheim 52 28 15 9 65 138 130

Edmonton 53 28 17 8 64 154 139

Los Angeles 51 26 21 4 56 131 123

Calgary 53 26 24 3 55 139 150

Vancouver 51 23 22 6 52 120 144

Arizona 50 16 28 6 38 113 159

Thursday's games

Philadelphia 3, Montreal 1

N.Y. Rangers 2, Buffalo 1, OT

Ottawa 5, Tampa Bay 2

Nashville 2, Edmonton 0

Winnipeg 4, Dallas 3

Chicago 4, Arizona 3

St. Louis 5, Toronto 1

San Jose 4, Vancouver 1

Friday's Games

Columbus at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m.

Calgary at New Jersey, 5:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Carolina, 5:30 p.m.

Anaheim at Florida, 5:30 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.