FANS, PLAYERS LOSE: NHL WILL SKIP OLYMPICS
Team owners and IOC can’t make a deal, with money seemingly the root of impasse
One word is all it took.
One well-thought-out, candid word from two-time Olympic goldmedal coach Mike Babcock pretty much described the hollow gut-gnawing feeling those who love and embrace the sport are going through today.
Standing in front of the media horde after his Maple Leafs had just defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 at Keybank Centre, Babcock was asked for his thoughts on the NHL’s decision not to go to South Korea for the 2018 Olympics after participating in the previous five Winter Games. “Disappointed.” That’s it. That was his only comment on the subject.
And it spoke volumes, didn’t it?
The players union was far more candid, its message much more biting.
Just hours after the National Hockey League released a statement indicating it would not participate in Pyeong-Chang, the players union responded with a scathing indictment of the league’s decision. And in the end, the implications could run deep, likely affecting future CBA talks.
“The players are extraordinarily disappointed and adamantly disagree with the NHL’s short-sighted decision not to continue our participation in the Olympics,” the NHLPA said in a release.
So this is what they mean by a so-called partnership between the league and its players?
And while we understand why the players are angry at this unfortunate turn of events, no one — not the television networks who have paid millions of dollars for Olympic broadcasting rights, not the players involved, not the sponsors who are watching potential revenue evaporate in front of their eyes — will suffer more than you, as fans, are right now.
Because it is you, the hockeyloving fans, who are being stripped of the privilege of witnessing once again the very best the sport has to offer.
Yes, it’s official. Or so the league says. In a release sent out to news agencies Monday afternoon, the NHL insisted the decision not to attend the 2018 Winter Games was a fait accompli.
“We now consider the matter officially closed,” the league said in a statement.
Excuse our skepticism. We’ve heard these drop-dead proclamations before from the league, notably during countless CBA negotiations during work stoppages. Somehow, a resolution is always reached. As Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price noted Monday upon hearing the news: “I think there’s probably going to be maybe a little bit of tactics involved, but we’ll see. The Olympics aren’t here yet.”
The initial reaction among fans — one that figures to snowball with every passing day — was to lash out at commissioner Gary Bettman, who is perceived to be the villain who drew the line deep in the sand.
But according to an NHL executive involved with one of the national teams at past Olympics, such logic is misguided.
“Gary’s going to take the heat on this, but people need to remember that he represents the owners,” the executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Postmedia Monday night. “He’s just doing their bidding.”
Privately, the owners will say they’re tired of the revenue losses associated with shutting down the league for almost three weeks.
And that’s what this seems to be about: the Almighty Buck.
Of course, the IOC, an organization that is no stranger to scandal over the decades, cannot wash its hands of the blame here, either. Indeed, they butchered this process from the get-go.
The NHL wanted to receive the same type of treatment the IOC gives many of its top sponsors, one that would lead to a marketing deal in which the league could use live videos of Olympics past to promote the upcoming Games instead of just still photos.
Seems like a fair request. Only the IOC reportedly refused. And despite the stories coming out of South Korea that a lucrative company like Bridgestone — a major sponsor of both the NHL and the Olympics — was trying to broker a deal, it seems nothing has changed.
Moreover, the IOC recently warned that if the NHL did not take part in South Korea, they shouldn’t count on being included in the 2022 Games in Beijing, China, a market the league considers to be an untapped frontier to grow the game. And now that the Olympic door appears to be shut on them, count on NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr to seek retribution.
In an interview with Postmedia’s Michael Traikos last month, Fehr said the players’ reaction at a potential decision not to go to South Korea “is not going to be a good one. And my guess is it’s going to last for a very long time.”
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has said he will let Alex Ovechkin participate for Russia in South Korea.
On the other hand, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk will not give the green light to Erik Karlsson to do the same for Sweden.
Unfortunately, the owners and IOC are doing their best to shut off the light switch.
And, in the end, it is you fans who suffer the most because of it.