WEST PALM BEACH, Florida -- It appeared to be a long shot -- the NHL offering Olympic participation in return for an extension of the collective bargaining agreement -- especially after conversations with players and agents on the NHL Players' Association side. One player representative from a Western Conference team is so distrustful of the CBA negotiating process that he’s already assuming a lockout is on the way no matter when the CBA ends.

“They’re just going to lock us out the first chance they get,” he said. “They’ll find something. Guaranteed contracts, something.”

And the idea of extending the CBA without a serious conversation about escrow seemed to be a nonstarter too. One veteran agent explained it this way: Under the current escrow system, the teams and the league don’t have enough motivation to raise revenues on a year-to-year basis.

The next two days in Florida -- where the NHL’s Board of Governors are meeting -- will help provide clarity on where the NHL stands in terms of Olympic participation in 2018.

If you’re a Canadian hockey fan, there’s a lot on the line. There’s a chance to extend the Olympic gold medal streak to three, and to establish Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Shea Weber as perhaps the greatest international competitors in the country’s long history of hockey.

As for the Americans, the emergence of young stars in the league this season further validates the idea that the 2018 Team USA Olympic roster might have its best chance for gold since the group that played for gold in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics.