Still trying too hard.
- burn

Still can't admit when you're mistaken eh?

My opinion is that its a virtual toss up between Canada, Russia, Sweden and the USA with Finland being not too far behind. I would not be the least bit surprised if any of those 5 teams won the gold medal if they played the games in Russia, Canada, Sweden or on the moon. Its pretty wide open and should be a great tourney for hockey fans to enjoy high caliber play.
- Cape Breton Bruins

Careful, some of these leaf fans will tear you apart for this opinion.

Still can't admit when you're mistaken eh?
- Doppleganger

nope don't need to. Wasn't NA ice...... have you admitted you were wrong about canada not winning on NA ice size??


carry on...

Careful, some of these leaf fans will tear you apart for this opinion.
- Doppleganger

you don't get it do you?

I don't remember anyone talking about previous tournaments. You said Russia was the favorite and went as far as posting the odds. Now that they reflect what we say, and show you're wrong, you backtrack. Now you're saying there isn't a favorite.

Anyone can win a tournament in this format, which is what we've said all along. Canada has the best team, and that makes them the odds on favourite, which is what we've said all along. You continually argued with that, and what we've insisted on all along is now proving to be true. And yet again, you spin and deflect. Your act is very tiresome.
- prock

this x 10000000

love how a handful of games played every four years featuring teams that have barely even practiced together is an indication of hockey supremacy to you losers
- Crimsoninja

a one game elimination is pretty arbitrary. anyone can win this thing. most of us have maintained this from the start.


but I agree that this tournament isn't a solid indication in a much wider sense. it would take much more than that. many games with all the best players involved over a good stretch of time.

that said; I obviously don't need a short tourney to validate my thoughts or otherwise.
Canada is unequivocally and without a doubt the strongest hockey nation by a great deal. period.

nope don't need to. Wasn't NA ice...... have you admitted you were wrong about canada not winning on NA ice size??


carry on...
- burn

Never did that. Did you see the 2010 Olympics?

We all put too much into the outcome of this tournament, and most people will be see it as who is the best Hockey Country in the World...............which becasue of the format is anything but.

It's a tournament, that's all.

What I don't like, is it's impact on the NHL season.


Some teams will benefit and others will be affected negatively because of it.



The Schedule is compressed, affecting the quality and perhaps the outcomes of some games becasue of it.

Teams with a lot of players going to the Olympics risk injury, and combined with the compressed schedule, return to the NHL with less gas in the tank for the stretch run of the season and perhaps affecting their teams playoff seeding.

Once in the playoffs, teams that had lots of players at the Olympics, have less gas in the tank for the playoff run, and if injured are not available for the playoffs.

I just don't think it's worth it for the NHL as a whole to participate in the Olympics because of it's tangible affect on the season, and fans who support a team a season long see their team fail to a certain degree because of it.

We all put too much into the outcome of this tournament, and most people will be see it as who is the best Hockey Country in the World...............which becasue of the format is anything but.

It's a tournament, that's all.

What I don't like, is it's impact on the NHL season.


Some teams will benefit and others will be affected negatively because of it.



The Schedule is compressed, affecting the quality and perhaps the outcomes of some games becasue of it.

Teams with a lot of players going to the Olympics risk injury, and combined with the compressed schedule, return to the NHL with less gas in the tank for the stretch run of the season and perhaps affecting their teams playoff seeding.

Once in the playoffs, teams that had lots of players at the Olympics, have less gas in the tank for the playoff run, and if injured are not available for the playoffs.

I just don't think it's worth it for the NHL as a whole to participate in the Olympics because of it's tangible affect on the season, and fans who support a team a season long see their team fail to a certain degree because of it.
- Doppleganger

Yeah, you've mentioned. Here's the thing. We don't care what you think. We like it. We're going to enjoy watching it. And if and when Canada wins, you and you're Debbie Downer crap can shove it up your arse.

Maybe you should try look at the bright side. You don't have many decent players on the Sens, so maybe most of your team having a rest can make the first round pick you gave up be more like the 10th or 12th overall range, instead of 5th or 6th.

Take your annoying crap elsewhere.

Yeah, you've mentioned. Here's the thing. We don't care what you think. We like it. We're going to enjoy watching it. And if and when Canada wins, you and you're Debbie Downer crap can shove it up your arse.

Maybe you should try look at the bright side. You don't have many decent players on the Sens, so maybe most of your team having a rest can make the first round pick you gave up be more like the 10th or 12th overall range, instead of 5th or 6th.

Take your annoying crap elsewhere.
- prock

Yeah, you've mentioned. Here's the thing. We don't care what you think. We like it. We're going to enjoy watching it. And if and when Canada wins, you and you're Debbie Downer crap can shove it up your arse.

Maybe you should try look at the bright side. You don't have many decent players on the Sens, so maybe most of your team having a rest can make the first round pick you gave up be more like the 10th or 12th overall range, instead of 5th or 6th.

Take your annoying crap elsewhere.
- prock

First of all, I'm not alone in my thinking. History has shown that the Olympics do have a negative impact on teams that have a lot players participating.

First round series losses to lower seeded teams have happened more frequently to teams when the NHL sent their players to the Olympics.


Sorry if you don't like what I've been saying, but look at the history of top seeded teams falling in the first round to 7th and 8th seeds.

First of all, I'm not alone in my thinking. History has shown that the Olympics do have a negative impact on teams that have a lot players participating.

First round series losses to lower seeded teams have happened more frequently to teams when the NHL sent their players to the Olympics.


Sorry if you don't like what I've been saying, but look at the history of top seeded teams falling in the first round to 7th and 8th seeds.
- Doppleganger

Don't. Care.

You've said. several times. I'm not alone either in telling you to shut. the (frank). up.

Don't. Care.

You've said. several times. I'm not alone either in telling you to shut. the fuck. up.
- prock

You don't, but let's wait and see if fans of other teams do, if the trend of top seeded teams, with lots of "Olympians" on their roster(s), failing to get past 7th of 8th seeds, in the first round this season, continues, as it's happened in other Olympic years.

Perhaps the leaf will be better off in a wild-card spot, rather than third in the division??

You don't, but let's wait and see if fans of other teams do, if the trend of top seeded teams, with lots of "Olympians" on their roster(s), failing to get past 7th of 8th seeds, in the first round this season, continues, as it's happened in other Olympic years.

Perhaps the leaf will be better off in a wild-card spot, rather than third in the division??
- Doppleganger

No no, I mean I don't care what you have to say. No one else does either.

No no, I mean I don't care what you have to say. No one else does either.
- prock

You're speaking for yourself.

Others have posted opinions along the lines on my POV on NHL participation, including an objective leaf fan.

No sport would shut down their season for a month except the NHl. It's silly really.

And yes, the NHl gets screwed by the Olympics if you're talking about money.
- RogerRoeper

Admittedly you don't see any of the negative impacts, on the NHL season and playoffs, by the NHL participation in the Olympics.

The NHL apparently has, and there are strong indications that with might likely be the last time they do participate.

You're speaking for yourself.

Others have posted opinions along the lines on my POV on NHL participation, including an objective leaf fan.

Admittedly you don't see any of the negative impacts, on the NHL season and playoffs, by the NHL participation in the Olympics.

The NHL apparently has, and there are strong indications that with might likely be the last time they do participate.
- Doppleganger

No um not speaking for myself. You've voiced it. To come back and babble about the same crap can only be intentionally obnoxious and you know it.

No um not speaking for myself. You've voiced it. To come back and babble about the same crap can only be intentionally obnoxious and you know it.
- prock

he's still rockin that same tired schtick huh...?

sad

love how a handful of games played every four years featuring teams that have barely even practiced together is an indication of hockey supremacy to you losers
- Crimsoninja

I agree.

That's why I can't see the logic in the NHL shutting down it's season for almost three weeks.

Some NHL owners don't like this shutdown either, and are not afraid to let anyone else know. I doubt the NHL goes to South Korea in four years.

Also there is the trend, of Top seeded teams, falling to 7th and 8th seeds in the playoffs, following the NHL's participation in previous Olympics.

And for what? A ten day tournament that does NOT reflect the country with the best hockey players, just a team that won a particular tournament.

I agree.

That's why I can't see the logic in the NHL shutting down it's season for almost three weeks.

Some NHL owners don't like this shutdown either, and are not afraid to let anyone else know. I doubt the NHL goes to South Korea in four years.

Also there is the trend, of Top seeded teams, falling to 7th and 8th seeds in the playoffs, following the NHL's participation in previous Olympics.

And for what? A ten day tournament that does NOT reflect the country with the best hockey players, just a team that won a particular tournament.
- Doppleganger

I think NHL players will continue to go the olympics. I am fine with it. I like to watch. They have milked the poop out of the Crosby Golden Goal..its already ranking on some of the Top Canadian moments lists and such. Thinking back about watching it was fun to watch.

I dont get the crying about shutting down for 2 weeks.

and do you have data on the teams falling after the Olympics? I would like to see that

Post your Team Canada for 2014!

S.Stamkos-S.Crosby-C.Giroux
R.Nash-R.Getzlaf-C.Perry
T.Hall-J.Toews-J.Eberle
J.Staal-P.Bergeron-E.Staal
T.Seguin, J.Tavares

S.Weber-D.Doughty
A.Petriangelo-D.Keith
D.Boyle-K.Letang
PK Subban

C.Ward
M.Fleury
C.Price
- Cape Breton Bruins

Anybody else getting excited?

I think NHL players will continue to go the olympics. I am fine with it. I like to watch. They have milked the poop out of the Crosby Golden Goal..its already ranking on some of the Top Canadian moments lists and such. Thinking back about watching it was fun to watch.

I dont get the crying about shutting down for 2 weeks.

and do you have data on the teams falling after the Olympics? I would like to see that
- senstroll

By IAN MENDES,

Olympic years bad news for hockey’s top seeds

When goaltender Patrick Roy declined an invitation for the Canadian men’s hockey team at the 2002 Olympics, he cited his desire to focus solely on winning another Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.

“It’s very simple. I wanted to take that time to prepare for the playoffs, for myself to have a good playoffs and finish the season strongly,” Roy told reporters at the time.

Roy was not enamoured with his Olympic experience at the 1998 Games in Nagano, when he was the No. 1 netminder for a Team Canada squad that failed to come home with a medal. But more damning was the fact that Roy believed the Olympic letdown affected the way his Avalanche teammates played down the stretch in the 1997-98 campaign.

That Colorado team was stacked with Olympians like Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Valeri Kamensky, Uwe Krupp and Adam Foote. But the Avalanche only won 10 of their final 24 regular season games after the Nagano Olympics and then were stunned in a first round playoff upset at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

It turns out that Roy may have been prescient about the connection between the Olympics and performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. In every year in which the NHL has participated in the Olympics, a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed have been knocked out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In 1998, the Avalanche, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, were joined on the sidelines by the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Devils were upset by the upstart Ottawa Senators in the first round, while the Penguins fell in six games to what had appeared to be an inferior Montreal Canadiens squad.

Following the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference also fell in the first round of the playoffs. The Boston Bruins finished as the No. 1 seed in the conference, but were ousted in six games by the Montreal Canadiens. Meanwhile, the Senators had little trouble dispatching the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Flyers in just five games.

The Oilers surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 started with a mammoth upset of the Red Wings, who won the President’s Trophy and finished 29 points ahead of Edmonton in the standings. That Detroit team had several prominent players who went to Turin for the Olympics, including Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mathieu Schneider and Tomas Holmstrom. But they were no match for the Oilers team, who won the series in six games. That season, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference also fell in the first round, when the Dallas Stars lost in five games to Colorado.

In 2010, the Montreal Canadiens also authored their own Cinderella run through the playoffs, knocking off the No. 1 seed Washington Capitals in a thrilling seven-game series in the first round. The Canadiens continued their magic in the next round by stunning Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins just a couple of months after Crosby was the hero at the Vancouver Olympics with his golden goal. The No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2009-10 was also knocked out in the first round, as the New Jersey Devils fell in five games to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers and Canadiens would actually meet in the Eastern Conference Final that year, marking the first time that a No. 7 seed and a No. 8 seed met in the third round of the playoffs.

It could be a total coincidence that the top seeds tend to struggle in Olympic years, but the evidence is certainly there to suggest this is anything but anecdotal. A No. 1 and a No. 2 seed have been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in all four previous Olympic years. By contrast, in the last nine non-Olympic seasons, that phenomenon has only occurred once: during the 2011-12 season when the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins were eliminated in the first round. And those upset losses could have been attributed to the fact that those teams met in a hard-fought final the previous year and they were both suffering from Stanley Cup hangover.

This season, most experts agree that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins are the class of the Eastern Conference and should finish as the top two seeds. But as history has shown us, anything can happen during an Olympic year and it’s certainly not a guarantee that those two teams will meet in the Eastern Conference Final for a second consecutive year.

By IAN MENDES,

Olympic years bad news for hockey’s top seeds


- Doppleganger

Based on this info I am glad NHL players are going to the Olympics this year

Based on this info I am glad NHL players are going to the Olympics this year
- senstroll

Agreed!!

Upsets? More competitiveness?
Cinderella runs?

The excitement of the best players in the world during the olympics and then less predictability afterwards due to this?

Sounds good to me

Agreed!!

Upsets? More competitiveness?
Cinderella runs?

The excitement of the best players in the world during the olympics and then less predictability afterwards due to this?

Sounds good to me
- hugefemale dog77

Unless you're a fan of a team with a heavy contingent of Olympians, and your team flames out in the first round.

Getting a little excited to see this team on the ice and playing.


I'm also strongly in favour of a World Cup of Hockey if the NHL won't be going to Korea(seems pretty unlikely that they will).