NHL Players in the Olympics

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Over the weekend, someone asked me what I thought about NHL players participating in the Olympics. While I

9 thoughts on “NHL Players in the Olympics”

  1. Well arguably you have an all-star tournament rather than just an all-star game. And I think the excitement of some of the better games on the big ice did quite a lot to attract new fans. I do commend you and your fellow NHL owners for loaning out your most valuable assets to the tournament, and I can’t see how the league could avoid winning by it in the long term. Perhaps not here in the US where there is no real nationalism around team sports, but the olympics definitely provides additional exposure of the NHL on the international scene.

  2. As a business owner, I have to say I sympathize with Ted. I just got back from Canada and up there, where they spend 45 minutes of an hour sports show covering hockey, their team’s untimely exit is a national tragedy. Watching the Finns and the Swedes, it’s amazing what their players did in the name of national pride. Look at Olli Jokinen, for example. He has made it clear that he doesn’t see a future in Florida, but it is absolutely ready to give his up body for his Finnn team.

  3. Olympic hockey is a billion times better than the NHL. I hate to admit that because I am a huge NHL fan. There is something special about playing for your country and it shows on the rink (well, except for the U.S. team) and in the quality of play.From a business perspective it has to be painful watching Ovechkin get his wrist taped up in his final game of the olympics. There are two reasons I hope the owners extend the olympic break beyond 2010. First, It is the best hockey in the world. Second, these kids, like Alex, grow up dreaming of gold, not of the stanely cup. This is their dream, let them live it. If they get injured in the process, well, that’s a business risk I hope you, and all the owners take. I have one game left this year in my set of caps tickets. After watching the olympics I will pick up a few more because my enthusiam has been re-energized. I hope this is the case for a lot of fans and we can show owners across the NHL that the olympics HELPS the bottom line.

  4. Saying that Team USA didn’t do as well because they didn’t get to practice together is a cop out. Last time I looked those teams from the Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Sweden were all chock full of NHLers too. Those guys seemed to pull it together. We didn’t get outplayed from lack of practice we got outplayed because we were older, slower and had been playing the NHL clutch and grab style for so long that they were outclassed by the other countries. Team USA was filled with great 2 way players but that just doesn’t cut it on the Olympic sized ice where speed and creativity wins the games. Maybe by the time they are picking the teams for Vancouver they will have learned their lesson. But I am sure Roenick will still be complaining he is left off the team in 2010.

  5. Personally, I would much rather see true ‘amateurs’ in the Olympics rather then players that get paid a lot of money to play the sport they love. While I love NHL hockey and watch as much as I can, I freely admit that Olympic hockey isn’t the same for me, and during these Olympics, I watched part of the Russia/Finland game to see who would go the gold medal game, and part of the Russia/Czech game for the bronze.

  6. Olympic Hockey was a bit of a let down for me b/c my team, Team USA didn’t do so well. I believe the reason for that was two-fold. First, the commitment that each player has to his NHL team prevents Olympic team from taking time to practice and gel as a team. The result is discombobulation and individualized play on the Olympic ice. Second, I just don’t see the desire that we saw in a team like the 1980 Team USA. For those guys, the Olympics was the biggest thing going for them and, for most, was the pinnacle of their career. Winning gold meant they had “made it”. The NHL players have already made it to the professional ranks and, while a gold medal may be important, it is not seen as the ultimate accomplishment. The result is that most of the players on the Olympic ice today are very professional but just don’t have the spark

  7. I get the injury worries, Mr Leonsis, but the All-Star game argument doesn’t wash. Hardly anybody gives a damn about the NHL All-Star Game, and the “hockey” played in it hardly resembles the standard NHL game.Query — if NHL players could still compete, but the Olympic tournament was an under-25 affair, would you be any more in favor of NHL player participation?

  8. This is the situation in football, er soccer, the world over. Clubs are reticent to release top players for international competitions like the Euro Cup and World Cup for the same reasons you list. FIFA and its member nations have figured out how to make this work, and it gives us great moments and personalities.

  9. It all started with the Dream Team in Basketball in Barcelona: professionals playing in the Olympics. Personally, I would rather see the up-and-coming high school and college players (ages 17-23) playing against their peers from around the world.For the other sports, you have your day job, and you have your training for the Olympics. There is no National Shot Put League… aside from a select few events, these are all just regular people like most of us (as Home Depot is trying to portray in their commercials).