The NHL is sitting out the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. USATSI

If it means getting NHL players back in the Winter Olympics, International Ice Hockey Federation president René Fasel is prepared to completely renegotiate the league's current collective bargaining agreement.

That's what Fasel told ESPN this week, saying he has "no choice" but to use contract negotiations as a bargaining chip "for the hockey fans, for our game."

The NHL, of course, is not only sitting out the 2018 Winter Games but is also non-committal on a return to the Olympics for Beijing's 2022 Games. Commissioner Gary Bettman has given neither fans nor players eager to compete overseas any hope for a change of heart, previously saying that it's "hard to envision" the NHL ever participating in future Olympics that occur outside North America.

Fasel, however, is adamant that the IIHF wants an NHL presence at the Games. On the heels of Team USA announcing its makeshift lineup for February's South Korea competitions, he highlighted CBA negotiations as an opportunity for discussion with the league, calling upon the NHL Players Association to use its voice and advocate for an Olympics revival.

As ESPN noted, NHLPA chief Don Fehr might be a key figure in labor negotiations, which can be opened as early as 2020 despite the NHL's current CBA running through the 2021-2022 season, but even he knows there's more hashing out to be done.