The subject of NHL players participating in the Winter Olympics is always a subject of debate among NHL officials. They throw around the idea of not allowing their players to compete for their countries because it hurts the NHL product, according to Commissioner Gary Bettman.
This would be the answer he would give instead of the honest answer. It hurts the NHL pocketbook. A risk of their superstars getting hurt and shutting down the NHL for two weeks while stadiums sit dormant, are his real concerns.
There is also concern as to who will pay the Olympians way to the games in Nagano. The IOC has decided it will not cover the travel expenses of players anymore and the NHL sees this as a problem.
The biggest stars of the game were asked about this over the NHL-All Star weekend, including Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. They both spoke favorably about participating but no one took a more firm stance than Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews. In his interview he had this to say,
“If you ask me I don’t think you can really compare it to the world cup or the world championships, the Olympics is a whole other thing. Quite frankly, I think to turn on the Olympics next year and watch the hockey teams, the player representing their country, if it’s not the best in the world, then I don’t know, I just feel like we’re misrepresenting our sport on a pretty huge scale, and pretty huge level. A lot of the talk has been it’s just the players that are pushing for it, it’s the players that are interested in wanting to go. I think the players do want to go but I think it should be of interest to the players and the league, and I think the NHL should be there for sure.”
The Captain has this all right because the league needs to be represented, if this is truly the best tournament in the world. Every player in the NHL has a sense of pride about their game and their country but the league only sees it as immediate dollars and cents.
While the NHL may lose some money now, they have to think about what they will gain. When the Olympics roll around people always find themselves watching sports that they normally never would. Olympic hockey is the closest thing you can get to playoff hockey, as far as the intensity, and the NHL needs to get behind it. That is, if it ever wants to be anything more than the fourth major sport.
