Another NHL/Olympics disaster...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Wisent

Registered User
Nov 15, 2003
3,667
2
Mannheim
Visit site
The Olympics are not only a marketing gag. It is not conducted to get new fans although that can be a nice side effect. Same as a Stanley Cup finals or a soccer WC aren`t. They play out the olympic winner, supposedly one of the greatest achievements in sport. If single individuals decide not to go that is fine. But to ban them would be just wrong. More people have the right to play out a tournament. Players, despite the common gospel here on HF, are not "owned" by a club. And all this yapping about "the season". The season won`t be shortened because of the Olympics (although a little shorter could be an advantage). If players come back injured that is just bad luck and can happen all the time. Fans have to deal with it, in every sport. If the NHL decides that this will be the last time, then fine, but until then this bickering has to stop. But I wouldn`t be surprised if there will be an uproar by the players if the NHL decides not to send players to the Olympics.
Obviously I`m not targeting everyone with this since there are a lot of fans here that understand this.
 

Hashmark

Registered User
Nov 25, 2005
297
0
The NHL just needs to learn to schedule their lockouts for Olympic years - Problem Solved!
 

lisario

Registered User
Feb 10, 2005
62
0
Regency said:
Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Canada win back-to-back silver medals in Albertville and Lillehammer before the NHL decided to send its players?? :sarcasm:

Silver is not gold, and, quite frankly, Canada has approached every tournament since Salt Lake with a feeling of entitlement to the gold medal.

Canadian fans would be freaking out almost as much if they left with silver or bronze.
 

Regency

Registered User
May 17, 2004
261
0
Toronto
lisario said:
Silver is not gold, and, quite frankly, Canada has approached every tournament since Salt Lake with a feeling of entitlement to the gold medal.

Canadian fans would be freaking out almost as much if they left with silver or bronze.

lisario said:
No NHL players at the Olympics would be a disaster, because the European teams would annihilate Canada and the U.S

To destroy completely
To defeat decisively; vanquish.

That's what annihilate means....if there were no NHL players at the Olympics the Canadian fans and media would hardly be freaking out the way they are now.
 

Czech Your Math

I am lizard king
Jan 25, 2006
5,169
303
bohemia
So this Olympics has been a marketing disaster from an NHL perspective?

Bettman is a walking marketing disaster:
1. Expanded into markets that mostly aren't so familiar with hockey. :dunno:
2. Through such expansion, significantly diluted talent on each team. :(
3. Has done nothing to rid NHL of the goon element, which put off those who don't enjoy pointless violence interrupting the game's flow and skill. :rant:
4. Allowed rules changes that turned game into a clutch-and-grabathon. :cry:
5. NHL shut down for full season due to labor dispute. :madfire:
6. Games now on Outdoor Life Network instead of Fox or ESPN? :biglaugh:
 

sarge88

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jan 29, 2003
25,310
20,500
Czech Your Math said:
So this Olympics has been a marketing disaster from an NHL perspective?

Bettman is a walking marketing disaster:
1. Expanded into markets that mostly aren't so familiar with hockey. :dunno:
2. Through such expansion, significantly diluted talent on each team. :(
3. Has done nothing to rid NHL of the goon element, which put off those who don't enjoy pointless violence interrupting the game's flow and skill. :rant:
4. Allowed rules changes that turned game into a clutch-and-grabathon. :cry:
5. NHL shut down for full season due to labor dispute. :madfire:
6. Games now on Outdoor Life Network instead of Fox or ESPN? :biglaugh:

Bettman has mad a ton of mistakes, including some you mention above but this Olympics has been pretty disastrous for the NHL for several reasons that have been mentioned in this thread.

To me it is a no win situation for the NHL;

If Canada wins gold, it isn't a big deal because they were probably the favorite (albeit a slight one). If the USA plays well but loses (even if it misses out on a medal) then no one will give them any credit because they didn't medal.

In the end, both teams (Canada especially) failed to come close to meeting expectations, which now results in what we have in the US which is the idea that the US is now on hockey par with France and Latvia. When, in reality they are closer to the top 4 or 5 teams than the bottom. Granted they lost, played badly, didn't deserve to win more than they did, and looked bad at times, but they did lose several games by 1 goal, in what can really be considered to be a bad year.

Who knows what the future will hold, but hopefully if this sham continues and the NHL continues to allow their players to play in the Olympics, team USA will make the necessary adjustments to allow them to have a better showing.

Team Canada, IMO regardless of what anyone says just had a bad few games and they should have no difficulty being a legitimate contender for gold for eternity.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->