NHL SAYS NO GAMES
Hockey fans are the biggest losers in the decision not to send players to the Olympics, Kevin Allen writes,
When NHL officials closed the door on 2018 Olympic participation Monday, they opened a box of fresh problems and complications.
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has said he plans to go to South Korea even without the NHL’s blessing.
What if other players do the same?
Will NHL teams be allowed to, or willing to, let their top prospects play?
Will teams let their No. 2 goalie go for the two weeks?
How will this impact the NHL’s relationship with NBC?
The peacock can’t be happy that the USA’s Pyeongchang roster will include NHL washouts or college players instead of Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel — despite a statement saying, in part, “We’re confident that hockey fans and Olympic viewers will turn in to watch the unique style of play ... when athletes are competing for their country.”
Will this decision be treated like a declaration of war by the NHL Players Association, which has made it clear that players wanted to go to the Olympics?
No winners, only losers, came out of the NHL decision not to send players to the Olympics.
The fans are the biggest losers because they are deprived of seeing the world’s best hockey players on a stage that is much larger than a Stanley Cup Final.
At the 1992 Games, a minor league goalie named Ray LeBlanc captured the hearts of American Olympic fans with a memorable performance in Merebel, France. “More people in America know Ray LeBlanc than Brian Leetch,” USA Hockey official Art Berglund said at the time.
He was right. The Olympic reach is much wider than the NHL reach.
The NHL has sent players to the last five Olympics, dating to Nagano in 1998. You probably need to be in your mid-30s to have memories of what Olympic hockey was like before the NHL started to go.
The concerns the NHL has with Olympic participation are sincere.
Shutting down the NHL regular season for a couple of weeks has caused problems for some teams in terms of recapturing fans’ interest.
Concern over injuries is also worrisome in a league when missing, or making, the postseason can come down to a point or two.
Still, it is shortsighted for the NHL not to want to grab the Olympic spotlight.
While it’s true that it is hard to quantify what the NHL gains from Olympic participation, it is hard to argue that the Olympic Games’ worldwide exposure isn’t worth the headaches for a league that desires to become more global.
The NHL announced last week that it will play two preseason games in China, and it’s well established the NHL would be interested in going to the Olympics in 2022 because it will be in China. That’s a market the NHL wants to explore.
That’s another problem the NHL now has because International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel said the NHL can’t pick and choose which Olympics it wants to attend.
Some problems resulting from this NHL’s Olympic decision will burn out quickly.
NBC has a long-term contract with the NHL, and it is not in NBC’s best interest to be angry with the league very long.
Even if players say they are going to the Olympics regardless of what the NHL says, most countries will honor the NHL’s contractual hold over the players. Given the amount of financial support the NHL gives Canada and USA Hockey, it’s difficult to believe those federations would accept rogue NHLers on their Olympic squads.
The Russians are a different story. If Ovechkin goes to the Olympics, he might have company. It’s expected other Russians will go. The Russian federation isn’t timid about fighting with the NHL.
Also, NHL players will remember this situation the next time collective bargaining negotiations are open.
USA Hockey officials wanted NHL players to go, but they knew this outcome was a real possibility. National teams director Jim Johannson has a file of potential players who are playing in college or Europe.
Said Johannson, “We’ll have 25 great stories on the ice in South Korea and will go to the Olympics with medal expectations.”