Brief break from Rumors....(I will have a rumor blog later today)
The NHL Schedule has been delayed due to the Olympics negotiations, but there really has never been a doubt the NHL players are going to Sochi in 2014. The Russian players have been adamant about this and the rest of the NHL players have backed them.
However, talking to sources involved and familiar with the situation, there is a growing sense and elephant in the room that the NHL is hard at work to replace the International experience with a return of the Canada Cup/World Cup of hockey in 2016.
There are definitely a group of owners and a contingency at the NHL who would have been happy if Vancouver were the last time NHLers went to the Olympics. The Schedule is really not the issue. Protecting your investment is the issue. Million dollar players putting it all on the line mid-season is way too risky to way too many teams.
Think about it. Say you are a company like Apple Computers. You are paying your engineers very well to produce for you, but every four years they get to do the same thing for free and you risk they could be unable to return to work. Engineers getting 100k a year wouldn't be allowed to do what hockey players making millions get to do.
The counter argument is of course the Olympics are a huge stage and the NHL gets their stars out in front of the millions who tune in to the Olympics...many of whom aren't yet hockey fans. There is definitely validity to this, but many feel the NHL is getting big enough on its own now and the reward from years gone by has diminished to the point the risk has over taken it.
The other issue is the players. The players want to play for their countries and they love going to the Olympics. I will tell you flat out there is nothing like the Olympics. Covering the games in Vancouver is still the single greatest highlight of my hockey writing career. The Olympics are all they appear on TV and more. They are a great spectacle in every way and watching the players put everything on the line voluntarily is amazing from a fan's perspective.
But from an owners perspective it remains terrifying. And the NHL is feeling that pressure. Were the games always in Vancouver or Lake Placid it would be a much easier sell as well. Had the coming games been in a country that wasn't the home of so many NHLers I have serious doubts the NHL would have gone.
Beyond that consider the locale of 2018 Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang, South Korea. South Korea 5 years from now is a very sketchy proposition for the NHL. The Favorites for 2022 are China, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Bids started to be taken a month ago. Outside possibilities are Stockholm and Anchorage Alaska. Quebec City was considering a bid but needs more time and is likely to consider 2028...If Quebec were to get the games the NHL would feel the pressure for sure.
The NHL realizes the draw for the players and wants to bring back the Canada/World Cup... which would be way more controllable and could be held at least most of the time in North America...and it could happen in September before the season begins. Every four years.
Were I to wager on this, I would say this is where we are heading.
Join the Discussion:
»