The country was at a stand still by the end of the tournament. Before it began, it was widely assumed Canada would easily waltz to eight straight victories and it wasn't taken very seriously at all.
You are, of course, free to dispute that, but that's coming straight from the mouthes of the players themselves who have freely admitted to not watching tape of the Russians, treating the pre-tournament practices like pre-game skates and and the tournament itself as a free trip to Russia.
This tournament, and its significance, has been dramatically re-framed over time.
Another thing that time has done is reframed Team Canada itself. The idea that this tournament is somehow the model of Canadian hockey and the Canadians refusal to quit and their ability to dig deep and slay the dragon is utter nonsense. The reality is this tournament features easily the most shameful act of poor sportsmanship in the history of Canadian international play. Had a Russian player gone out on the ice and intentionally broken the ankle of Phil Esposito people would be up in arms about how the Russians cheated to win and stooped to the lowest level possible. But Canada doing that - and make no mistake, they did exactly that - is somehow a humorous anecdote when they talk about the series.
It's embarrassing and a real low point for Canadian hockey. People subsequently talked about the "cowardly" Russians that left the ice in Philadelphia a few years later. Who could blame them after this precedent was set and it was clearly established what Bobby Clarke was willing to do to win?
Indeed, good post, accurate... and I was around for it, playing hockey, teenager... in Toronto from which everything emanated, the Training Camp held & so on. And ya, the media, pundits, so called hockey intelligentsia almost all to a man & outlet really didnt take it seriously, like a "novelty event", be little more than a showcase for the NHL players who were gunna school the Russians. Cakewalk. For the vast majority of the fans & young guys such as myself, players, we didnt really pay a whole lot of attention to International Hockey as the general perception was that it was rigged... and to a large degree it was & had been since the 50's by the Soviets. So everyone was expecting to see them be handed their lunch on a tray. Come-uppance. All theyd ever faced from us were Seniors, Juniors, University players.
With the hype surrounding the series, pretty much everyone did tune in for Game 1, hardcore & casual fans. What unfolded however was a joke, a bad dream, that the media & everyone else could get things so wrong, then to watch as the out of shape caught on their heels reeling backwards Canadians decided to lower the bar, lowest common denominator with dirty play in a blatant attempt to slow down & stop the Russians.... absolutely disgusted me & I know a great many others... who did tune in sporadically thereafter to see if Team Canada had gotten their acts together, were playing it clean, to see if Sinden in the deployment of his troops had figured out the obvious in how to stop them at Center which he didnt do until Game 4 & just on & on & on. So no, I didnt watch much of it between Game 1 & 8, whenever I tuned in, quickly disgusted with what I was seeing with Team Canada's players. Game 8 I did watch in full.
History is constantly being re-written and ya, no question people overstate Hendersons heroics & not just in that final game but his clutch goals in others. Mythic status. That a player of that caliber, yes he was decent but not exactly the brightest star in the galaxy along with Eliis & a few others were the only Canadians playing it clean & finding success in doing so tells you all you need to know about where that crews heads were at. Yes Team Canada won the series however, so did the Russians. They won it in Game 1 actually when they came out there & skated circles around the pro's & continued to do so throughout the series. People seem to forget or perhaps unaware of all the handwringing & teeth gnashing following the Summit over the "crisis in hockey across Canada". How the game had become far too violent, that Canada was producing Goon's, playing Goon Hockey at every level & back then certainly from elite Bantam, Midget & Junior on up there was a whole lot of that going on & had been since the 50's. Some serious acts of violence. Absolutely.
The Russians playing the game, their approach the way it once was in Canada before professionalism became a thing, before the business of hockey even existed. A "Gentlemans Game". Of sportsmanship. Speed & grace.... Sure they too during the Summit got heated, some nasty stickwork but in every single case, retaliation. Only so much you can take, snap. And that was Sindens game plan. Got Morons on my team.... whole selection process of players was flawed.... discussion that weve had here countless times & even still raises at least my hackles, passions. They didnt lose the Summit Series. In many respects they won it. Hockey changed forever, they changed the game, and while no Russophobe, crimes of the beyond brutal Communist regime, mass murder, repression.. absolutely beyond heinous... one needs to separate the people, general population from leadership. It was of course framed East vs West, Our System vs Theirs, sport in general, way it was be it hockey, the Olympics... it was easy for Esposito, Clarke, Eagleson & others to demonize the Russian players, Coaches etc, people lapping it up... that they were Automatons, dirty.... propaganda... war of words. Scratch the surface, use your brain... not so much.