NHL can’t be indifferent to China’s revenue potential

Time to break ice in world’s most populous market

in Vancouver “Our main goal is to grow the game worldwide,” says Alex Burrows, the Canucks’ union representative. exhibition games, why can’t we go to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, which offers a greater opportunity to expose the sport in Asia?

It’s a fair question. As for the answer, stay tuned because this could get interesting.

“Our main goal is to

The Olympic issue, of course, took an interesting turn over the weekend when several of the game’s biggest stars sounded off about the NHL’s reluctance to commit to Pyeongchang. Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, even young Connor McDavid, all made pointed comments

Now, it might overstate the point to suggest the PA will use the exhibition series as a bargaining chip for Pyeongchang but it is a pressure point, given the PA has to sign off on China. To be sure there are other issues — travel, accommodation, scheduling — and those have been discussed internally by the Canucks and the Kings.

But given everything that’s at stake with the Olympics, the PA will try to exploit any edge it can with the league, even if Daly doesn’t see it that way.

“From my perspective, one is unrelated to the other,” wrote Daly. “Our participation (or not) in South Korea will not impact our efforts (or our ability) to grow the game and make it more relevant in China.” Over to you, Alex. “No,” said Burrows. “They’re related.”

As mentioned, the PA understands the importance of the Chinese market. They also understand the timing is right to plant its flag in that market. This season, the expansion Kunlun Red Star began play in the KHL to modest success, finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference and advancing to the playoffs. Red Star, whose lineup features former Leaf Alexei Ponikarovsky, played most of its games at the 14,000-seat LeSports Centre in Beijing, the basketball venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

It likely will be the site of one of the exhibition games between the Canucks and Kings.

“Hopefully, we can get them on board because it’s an untapped market with a tremendous amount of people,” said the Canucks’ Jannik Hansen. “The opportunity for growth is limited in North America. This is something else.”

Or, as a source close to the PA said: “We need to find new sources of revenue. We feel we’re being left behind some other sports.”

And China offers the opportunity to make up a lot of that ground.