Olympics: Bettman hints NHL won't play in 2018 and 2022

[Yakushev72]

So are we going to ignore than in '78 the Soviet's talent was only spread across 10 teams and the NHL/WHA combined had 26?

The bottom line is that no matter who the Soviets sent over, or who the NHL sent to the Soviet Union to play against Soviet teams, there was never an occasion where the NHL established itself as a level above the Soviet league. The games were always nail biters, with the NHL and Soviets playing at complete parity. Trot out all the excuses you want, but Canada has never shown itself to be better than Russia in hockey. And keep in mind, hockey isn't close to being Russia's favorite sport.

 

[Dynamo81]

Given the context, I am pretty sure Yakushev is talking about the Soviet League Vs the NHL. And yes he has a point given that the Soviets sent average, bottom and top teams who all proved to be more than competitive against their counterparts. Whereas if you were to compare Russian hockey post Soviet era with Canadian hockey, well Canada is much more superior results wise (Senior and Junior), as they deserve to be from a hockey mad nation. Although I will add Russian hockey has gotten a lot better recently after the disastrous 90's and I am interested in seeing a lot of the 94+ born kids who grew up in a wealthier Russia perform in the future.

 

[stv11]

Time to stop this. The original topic is long gone anyway.