Comments on: Should NHL Players Go To Sochi In 2014?

By: drub1959

drub1959 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:21:41 +0000

Proffessionals have no business in the Olympics. I don’t care what country they are from or which sport it is.

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v9versace — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:40:17 +0000

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By: jpcBFLO

jpcBFLO — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:40:47 +0000

until NBC actually promotes the NHL, i say no. They had an AMAZING opportunity to tie in their coverage of the NHL during the games, hockey brought them the highest ratings out side the opening/closing ceremonies, but the only hockey ads i saw (in the US) where for Versus? seriously, NBC’s promotion of hockey has been a joke since day one.
The Winter Classic is a major NHL event, not one bit of promotion by NBC during the Today show, yet they babble on every Friday and Monday about their NFL coverage.
Sunday game of the week, have you ever seen a commercial for a game outside of when you’re watching this weeks? No.
NBC, it’s time to get with it and then the NHL can bring you the stars you need.

By: Raimo

Raimo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:55:28 +0000

Of course they should! As a finnish hockey fan I love to watch high skill hockey games. I understand the reasons why NHL is doubtful for participating in Sochi but I think the benefits are much greater than downsides.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:56:49 +0000

I was just about to ask the same question.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:10:15 +0000

I don’t think they should. The owners shell out money for the players to bring the team a cup. If they get injured in the olympics they aren’t doing their job.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:06:53 +0000

Doni, it’s Canada’s game? And how many teams are in Canada, how many are in the US? I don’t like Bettman any more than you do, but this game hasn’t belonged to you for a long time. Why don’t we break it up, have a CHL, and USHL then see how the finances work out – In a couple of years you’d be playing at the ECHL level at open air rinks.

By: SkyGirlofHockeytown

SkyGirlofHockeytown — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:23:48 +0000

To the NHL, it’s not about taking two weeks off, It’s about money. All they really care about is the money the teams are not making during the Olympics.
I would love to see the NHL players represent thier countries.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:40:03 +0000

If the NHL doesn’t play, I doubt that I’ll have any interest in Olympic Hockey. It would be like watching the Spengler Cup or watching the women play.
Don’t get me started on Women’s hockey either… Canada has the strongest team and they get beat by boys midget teams!

By: Kevin C

Kevin C — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:21:57 +0000

@anonymous. It is not about the best hockey, but frankly, that gold-medal game was about as good as it gets. It is about marketing, and getting your product in front of the most people possible. The idea is to draw in NEW fans, and the Olympics are the best easy chance to do that.

By: jack25624

jack25624 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:32:17 +0000

Oh yeah, what about the miricle on ice? They were amateurs. The college kids need the chance to play for their country. Especially that the Soviet Union is no more. They have professional leagues in all the ex soviet block countries.

By: ard

ard — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:41:56 +0000

I have mixed feelings about it, but not because of the money or the NHL thing. If you keep using professionals then teams where hockey is not a major sport has little chance of winning. Look at the scores of the games, like 12-0. To me that isn’t fair. On that same note, I would like to see some of the AHL or farm team guys playing on an Olympic level, not just the elite NHLers. On the other hand its also not fair to the players if we tell them they cannot represent their teams. They are the best from their country and they should have the honor to play for their flags.
Bottom line for me is that they should play. Though as time goes on and NHLers become even better, the Olympic competition is going to be an elite group of just a few countries.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:39:09 +0000

Throwing the best individual players on the ice for two weeks, does not make the best hockey in the world. I would say game 7 win on the road for the Penguins v Redwings was just as exciting and the level of team play far exceeds Olympic hockey. The lack of time together shows in every aspect of Olympic hockey. Look at the 2 most exciting players in hockey- Ovechkin- a non factor, and before the game winner by Crosby- scoreless in the two previous games.
Ken

By: lvtucker

lvtucker — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:28:11 +0000

I think the Olympics is about being the best. So let the best play.
It’s simple.
“You have to allow them to play. There are very few true amateur athletes left in the Olympics anyway. Most have sponsors and make big bucks to perform their sport.” -Michael

By: brad

brad — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:21:06 +0000

This is an event for every country to send their best. Should we leave behind professional snowboarders? professional skiers? professional skaters? To rule out someone who is paid for the sport they compete in would rule out the majority of these individuals.

By: Kevin C

Kevin C — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:15:42 +0000

35 million people watched the gold-medal game. Who, in their right mind, would let that public-relations opportunity pass?

By: Herman Yayla

Herman Yayla — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:54:42 +0000

I think yesterdays game did more for hockey than Gary Bettman did during his post. NHL players should definitely take part in the Olympics and a proper brake be given to the season. Nothing beats watching the BEST athletes of the world (in any sports) representing their countries.

By: Johnny Punish

Johnny Punish — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:38:00 +0000

$$$$$$ This is a negotiating gambit by Bettman to get a cut of the action! 4 years away and the negotiating has already begun! Love it! There’s big money on the table! Amateur sports is dead! Welcome to the age of Olympic Business posing as a sport! $$$$$$$$$$$

By: kingofgrills

kingofgrills — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:28:19 +0000

I absolutely think NHL players should represent their respective countries in the Olympics. I also think their participation in the games helps draw more fans into hockey and the NHL.
It’s good for the sport, and ultimately, it’s good for the league.

By: Hank Missenheim_Jr

Hank Missenheim_Jr — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:27:51 +0000

International hockey needs is regular world tournament held outside the NHL season. Winning a gold medal would actually mean something if it were by college players, like in 1980.

By: Brandon Worley

Brandon Worley — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:18:44 +0000

In no way am I implying that true hockey fans don’t enjoy the break; in fact I think it’s the opposite. I love the break, and I love the hell out of Olympic hockey. Judging by the TV numbers, it can only be good for the game, because that wasn’t just die-hard hockey fans watching across America.
Personally, I can’t see how the NHL can afford to skip the Olympics. The backlash from the players would be incredible, and the league could risk losing the international players that makes the NHL so much fun to watch.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:13:50 +0000

You imply that true hockey fans are jonesing to see their favorite team after two weeks? Wrong. True hockey fans live to see international hockey at it’s highest level and the only way to present such a high level at the Olympics is by including NHL players. Two weeks of an Olympic tourney is welcomed by true hockey fans. As for casual fans and those who watch the Olympics but don’t necessarily like hockey, you just fortified your fan base. The Olympics legitimize hockey for those novice fans. Now each team needs to market the Olympians on their roster and you’ll see a wave of first-timers at games. After masterminding a disgraceful TV deal for the NHL, Bettman should be humbled and grateful that he has the Olympics as a marketing outlet for this great game.

By: Teemu

Teemu — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:02:11 +0000

Hello hockey mom! Greetings from Finland. Great game which could have ended either way.
For me amatuer means an athlete who doesn’t get a living from sport and can’t concentrate 100% in it. There are some amatuer athletes in Olympics but most of them are professionals. They don’t make millions like NHL players but they do make their money by doing sports. It’s little naive to think Olympics are for amatuers. That time is in the past.

By: joey joe joe

joey joe joe — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:59:23 +0000

exactly- we tried to use amateurs. After a while, we were the only ones, and we were tired of getting waxed.
I’d rather see non-professionals, but only if every country does that. And they’re not going to.
Plus, since all the NHL players go back to their own countries for the olympics, it’s not like it benefits any one country. It raises the talent pool all around.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:54:47 +0000

Sorry to make a political statement on a sports blog, but this situation is a perfect microcosm of our political system. The NHL is big business. Naturally big business is going to resist anything that negatively affects its bottom line, regardless of whether it’s the Right Thing or not.
Government regulations that keep companies from doing bad things like polluting rivers, employing children, union busting, etc. (keeping the best athletes out of the olympics) cost the companies money. The companies thus support politicians who will bring “deregulation” and “free trade” (nearly all Republicans and a good many Democrats), so they won’t be burdened by intrusive laws and can make more money, regardless of the consequences for the population (war, climate change, oil slicks, poverty-level wages, half-ass olympic hockey). Since these companies control so much money, government and, especially, media, a very effective, permanent propaganda campaign is set up to fool enough of the population so that this predatory capitalism can stay in power, even with fair elections (although that’s been undermined as well with computer-based voting- see big business running election hardware and software). This effective propaganda is why about 7/8 the people reading this will tell me I’m full of it.
That was the argument from the socialist side, but there needs to be a correct balance. Maybe you strike a compromise where a certain number of pro hockey players are allowed. (Except the Libertarians would be against any requirements limiting the number of pros, thus unwittingly playing into the hands of big business.)

By: Nate

Nate — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:42:24 +0000

I’d rather see the days of the amatuer athletes come back to the Olympics in Hockey as well as the other sports.

By: Jim Canada

Jim Canada — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:32:32 +0000

The best athletes in the world should compete at the Olympics,that is what they exist for. The NHL Owners and their lackey Bettman should realize, I hope, that the game of Hockey and the Olympics are a magnitude more important than their short term, myopic, selfish interests. The NHL owners should be ashamed of their negotiating position, it is unsportsmanlike and embarrassing to anyone whom cares about the game of Hockey. Hockey is bigger than 30 NHL owners, they should get over themselves AND DO THE RIGHT THING.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:25:43 +0000

How many people in the US would have watched the hockey final if it were not Canada and USA? If the game yesterday was Slovakia and Finland, nobody would care a about how great the Olympics are for hockey. It was a once in 50 year event.
As far as moving it to summer- Isn’t basketball a winter sport? What is the difference? Is hockey played outside in the winter Olympics?
When did the Summit games between the Soviets and Canada used to take place in the 70′s? Not in the middle of the NHL or Euorpean season. What other sport shuts down shop for 2 1/2 weeks in the middle of the season for the Olympics?
Ovechkin can go play in the next Olympics. After the way he played the last two weeks, it would be good for any opponent to have him on the other team.
Ken

By: DavidEsq

DavidEsq — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:16:04 +0000

First, I agree that the NHL players should play in the Olympics. No Canadian fan is turning away from the sport for the two week hiatus, and even if some American fans do, more fans will be introduced to the game though the Olympics PROVIDED that the US goes far in the tournament, as they did this year. the NHL is the 4th major sport in the US (emphasis on the 4th), and some would argue that it is the most watched minor sport here. Therefore, the exposure is a positive for the NHL, and Bettmen would be an idiot from preventing that exposure.
However, I do want to note that if only amateurs played, Canada and the US would not be relegated to also-rans, as in the old days. Today, all the best Russians, Swedes and Czech’s play in the NHL, KHL or top leagues in Sweden the Czech Republic. In others words, they are professionals as well, no different than the NHL players. It can be argued that today, a Canadian team made up of OHL and QMJHL players (as well as the western Canada junior leagues)might actually be the strongest team out there. Remember that Canada won five straight World Junior Hockey Championship from 2005 – 2009. So while I want to see NHL’s in the Olympics, since it would produce the best hockey, having only amateurs play does not mean that the playing field will not be level.

By: Bummed Out In Bermuda

Bummed Out In Bermuda — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:06:40 +0000

No, they shouldn’t be allowed to play. Just give the Canadians a guaranteed gold medal in hockey every four years and be done with it. There is no reason that NHL teams should send any non-Canadians to the Olympics anyway – they’re just going to lose when they get there just like the Americans did this time.