Comments on: IIHF happy to wait out NHL commitment to the Olympics

By: greatminnesotasportsmind

greatminnesotasportsmind — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:56:13 +0000

I couldn’t disagree more about anything you said. Olympics are 15 days long (specifically hockey). Your only making up 11 days of hockey because Olympics are in lieu of the All-Star Game (and that is only watched by kids over the age of 12) so basically you have to condense the schedule by a mere week and half. Which can be cut down by not having teams sit from Sunday to Thursday.

It’s not because they are fighting for insurance, being that players have played since Nagano games in 1998. It’s a matter of Bettman (and owners) holding the players hostage (being the players want to play in the Olympics) just like what the NHLPA did with the realignment. Where the NHLPA is faulty here is it’s their own players they are screwing over by not agreeing to realignment. It makes perfect sense that Winnipeg (in the middle of Manitoba, Canada in case you forgot) is in the Southeast division with Washington, Carolina, Tampa, and Florida. Dallas is in the Pacific no where near Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, and Phoenix. Minnesota is in the Northwest playing Colorado, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. Instead of all 3 being in the same conference.

When the CBA get ironed out, Olympics will be traded for realignment and both will happen for the 2013-2014 season

By: jimw81

jimw81 — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:28:55 +0000

why can’t they just have a regular season and let the players who want to go play in Olympics and play? But at the same time those players who are playing should give teams a salary cap “hold” until they come back. I guess they are fighting over who going to take the insurance hit on the players playing in Olympics.

By: greatminnesotasportsmind

greatminnesotasportsmind — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:44:09 +0000

Who cares about time zone differences? Face it, hockey is a nitch sport to begin with. They they show the games here (and Canada) people are going to watch. At least the US and Canada games will be watched. If hockey fans really want to watch Russia/Germany and Sweden/Finland they will. Olympic hockey is the best hockey to watch.