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2018 Olympics

I'm in the 5,4,3,2,1, who gives a crap camp. In North America I might but I want the Leafs to succeed first and having a condensed schedule doesn't do any of our  participating players any favours. Remember Tavares getting hurt? All but killed their playoff chances. Could you imagine of it was Matthews, Andersen or Nylander?
 
I think it's unfortunate.  Outside of the olympics hockey doesn't really have a good best on best tournament.  It's hard to get too worked up over a fight between the IOC and the NHL but I do kind of feel as fans we get a little ripped off.

edit: added a word
 
crazyperfectdevil said:
I think it's unfortunate.  Outside of the olympics doesn't really have a good best on best tournament.  It's hard to get too worked up over a fight between the IOC and the NHL but I do kind of feel as fans we get a little ripped off.
Click to expand...
  You will be able to watch the downhill instead.
 
jdh1 said:
crazyperfectdevil said:
I think it's unfortunate.  Outside of the olympics doesn't really have a good best on best tournament.  It's hard to get too worked up over a fight between the IOC and the NHL but I do kind of feel as fans we get a little ripped off.
Click to expand...
  You will be able to watch the downhill instead.
Click to expand...

maybe the biathlon
 
I'm disappointed in this news. Olympic hockey is amazing, it's like the playoffs but the talent levels on the teams are insane.

I doubt I'll watch any of the other events.
 
Disappointing, but, with the next two Olympics on the other side of planet, it's not like I would have been able to watch the games live, so, it would have been a less exciting experience for me, either way.
 
What's interesting now of course is what happens with players who want to go. Leonsis is on record of saying he'll support Ovechkin if he wants to go. Does that extend to Kuznetsov? Holtby? Will other owners follow suit and appease their superstars? Melnyk has made it clear that he doesn't want Karlsson there. Erik will have 1 year left on his contract when the Olympics roll around. Will that effect his future with the team?

This could still get much uglier.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
This could still get much uglier.
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Yeah. When you think of it that way, you have to wonder how much of this is just a negotiation ploy. The owners know the players want to go, but, what are they willing to give to make it happen?
 
I guess I look at this and then the NHL wants to send teams to play exhibition games in China.  Why send them far away.  The players should refuse to go over there.
 
As a fan it's disappointing because the hockey at the Olympics has been so good but I think the way that the NHL has desperately tried to get some concessions out of the IIHF and NHLPA for participation is a pretty good indicator that right now they see the Olympics as doing nothing for their business.
 
One has to ponder the NHL's decision to go to China and ditch the Olympics event.  Apparently, the Chinese market will do wonders for them as compared to an every-four-years event.

Thought the Olympics were a good marketing showcase for the NHL brand but the potentials for the Chinese market, and perhaps beyond, dwarfs it by comparison, that is, if and when hockey truly gains a foothold in Asia.

If no one will be representing their respective countries via professional hockey, then who will be donning the Canadian jersey for example, a bunch of university players? Does anyone really want to see sub-par hockey or a far higher level of the game?
 
The decision not to go to the Olympics isn't linked to their decision to play in China. We've known the NHL hasn't been happy with the IOC for some time and it was only the IOC covering costs last Olympics that sent guys to Sochi.

And it's not hard to figure out the difference. The NHL going to China is something they control and will reap the benefits of. The IOC wouldn't even let the NHL come aboard as a partner and let them use their branding.

As for the make-up of the teams there's no reason Canada or the US couldn't essentially send their WJC teams and people seem excited enough over that tournament.

The NHL can be criticized for their self-interests here but let's not overlook that this is the result of two supremely self-interested organizations clashing and between the IOC and the NHL, I have way more sympathies with the NHL.
 
This really needs to be read on the subject:

Hate the IOC, not Bettman

But using the nebulous romanticism of sports to obfuscate reality is basically the IOC?s mission statement. The torch, the rings, the pageantry, the ?Olympic spirit,? the ?Olympic movement,? the medals ? they?re all bright shiny objects to distract from things like the financial ruin that follows the Games from city to city or doping scandals or how utterly insane it is that the IOC makes millions off the NHL?s assets and the NHL isn?t compensated for it in a meaningful way.

The default setting in situations like these is to side with the players, demonize Bettman and lament the notion that the owners are ?holding the game back? through their avarice.

And while your heart goes out to every player who feels their gold medal moment was just taken from them, realize this: Bettman got us into the Olympics and the owners have allowed the players to ?grow the game? pro bono for the IOC for the last 19 years. The NHL hasn?t seen any tangible benefits from it. No post-Olympic spikes in interest. No new revenue streams from the partnership. Nothing but ?good of the game? platitudes, which have the cash value of a Chuck-E-Cheese game token.

The owners asked to share in the windfall their assets have created for the Olympics, and the IOC responded by not only denying them that but then denying them the basic funding the NHL has received for the last five Olympics.
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Nik the Trik said:
The NHL can be criticized for their self-interests here but let's not overlook that this is the result of two supremely self-interested organizations clashing and between the IOC and the NHL, I have way more sympathies with the NHL.
Click to expand...

This, 100%.  The NHL looks evil in everyone's eyes, but at the end of the day the IOC is much worse.  At the end of the day, the players and the fans lose out.
 
Coco-puffs said:
This, 100%.  The NHL looks evil in everyone's eyes, but at the end of the day the IOC is much worse.  At the end of the day, the players and the fans lose out.
Click to expand...

Yup. If the IOC had agreed to a couple of the league's fairly reasonable requests - co-merchandising opportunities, sponsorship, etc. - I imagine there'd be NHL players at the 2018 Olympics. At the end of the day, the owners just wanted a tangible, measurable benefit from going, and they didn't get one.
 
Coco-puffs said:
Nik the Trik said:
The NHL can be criticized for their self-interests here but let's not overlook that this is the result of two supremely self-interested organizations clashing and between the IOC and the NHL, I have way more sympathies with the NHL.
Click to expand...

This, 100%.  The NHL looks evil in everyone's eyes, but at the end of the day the IOC is much worse.  At the end of the day, the players and the fans lose out.
Click to expand...
I am not totally convinced the door is closed. Bettman's negotiating techniques are obnoxious and this could be just Bettman being Bettman. How many lockouts have we had? Maybe he's just pulling a heavy to get what he wants.

The players lose out as well. The players are the product, try to keep them happy? Is that a crazy notion?

As a fan, I don't care how much money the NHL and the IOC are making or not making. I want to see Team Canada win another gold on the world stage. Patriotism. The World Cup was an All Star tourney, a preseaon warm up, not the same.
 
cabber24 said:
The players lose out as well. The players are the product, try to keep them happy? Is that a crazy notion?
Click to expand...

In the immortal words of Don Draper, that's what the money is for.
 
cabber24 said:
I am not totally convinced the door is closed. Bettman's negotiating techniques are obnoxious and this could be just Bettman being Bettman. How many lockouts have we had? Maybe he's just pulling a heavy to get what he wants.
Click to expand...

Let's be clear for a second here. What Bettman wants is entirely meaningless. It's what the owners want. And "Bettman being Bettman" is acting how the owners have employed him to act. I know he makes for an easy bad guy, but he's really just a figurehead for the BoG when it comes to negotiations like this. If we're going to lay blame, let's lay the blame on the right people.
 
I think that'd be naive to assume he's just a figurehead for the BoG. I would imagine his influence is enormous.
 
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