The only thing the IIHF can do is make it a business decision that the NHL finds acceptable. And as the smallest player in the room, they don't have much influence in the matter. Unless the IIHF wanted to go nuclear and refuse to sanction an Olympic hockey tournament AND it convinced the other big nations to join any such boycott until the IOC gave the NHL enough to make it worthwhile. But that obviously won't happen, since the NHL not going hurts the Canadian and American teams the most, by far.
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